•MUMWMiaHlil 


HOW  TO  CONDUCT 


RAYER- MEETINGS 


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^'^.>^.g!^^MW<'i^i^J'/, 


INTRODUGTIONJ  BY 


J.  H.  VINCENT    D.    D. 


PEIHOETGIT    ^^ 
ntC.  jui^  I8ba  ^^ 

THEOLOGICAL 


BV  285  .T46  1880 
Thompson,  Lewis  0. 
How  to  conduct  prayer- 
meetings 


HOW 

TO   CONDUCT 


PRAYER-MEETINGS, 


AN    ACCOUNT  OF  SOME   MEETINGS   THAT   HAVE   BEEN    HELD. 


REV.  LEWIS   O.  THOMPSON, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  "PRAYER-MEETING  AND  ITS   IMPROVEMENT,"  ETC. 


WITH    AN   INTRODUCTION    BV 

J.    H.    VINCENT,    D.  D, 


t 

BOSTON: 
D.   LOTHROP    AND    COMPANY, 

FRANKLIN   STREET,   CORNER   OF    HAWLEY. 


Copyright  by 
LOTHROP   &  COMPANY. 
1880. 


TO  THE 

REV.   A,   O.    WRIGHT, 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  "WISCONSIN   FEMALE  COLLEGE." 


PREFACE. 


The  title  of  this  book  will  distinguish  it  from  "  The 
Prayer-Meeting  And  Its  Improvement,"  and  designate  it 
as  a  companion  volume. 

There  are  two  agents  which  co-operate  in  religious  war- 
ship —  the  human  and  the  Divine.  In  the  first  volume  I 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  no  meeting  can  be  success- 
ful, from  vchich  the  Divine  agent  is  absent,  "  Without  me 
ye  can  do  nothing,"  "  It  is  not  6y  might  nor  by  power,  but 
by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  In  calling  attention,  then,  in 
this  volume,  to  such  a  variety  of  meetings  that  may  be  held 
for  sustaining  the  interest  and  promoting  a  larger  attend- 
ance, there  is  jio  intention  of  slighting  Divine  influences, 
nor  of  overlooking  the  need  of  humble  reliance  upon  heaven 

5 


6  Preface. 

for  such  guidance  and  inspiration  in  the  meetings  held, 
and  the  instrumentalities  used,  as  alone  can  make  them 
profitable. 

Neither  do  I  write  as  if  I  thought  myself  possessed  of  all 
the  wisdom  there  is,  on  this  subject.  It  has  been  my  object 
to  discover  and  describe  such  various  meetings  as  my  breth- 
ren in  the  ministry  have  found  useful,  hoping  they  may  serve 
as  helps  in  the  Study  of  the  Prayer-Meeting. 

Of  course  it  would  be  unfair  to  hold  those  who  have  so 
kindly  favored  me  with  their  suggestions,  responsible  for 
any  views  of  this  book,  other  than  those  endorsed  by  their 
own  handwriting.  It  would  be  a  pleasure  to  know  that 
their  agreement  is  general,  but  whether  there  be  agree- 
ment or  difference,  the  obligations  of  the  writer  remain 
unchanged,  and  are  hereby  gratefully  expressed. 

If  this  book  shall  be  in  any  sense,  a  help  in  the  direc- 
tion contemplated,  I  shall  have  many  reasons  for  thank- 
fulness. 

May  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  whose  presence  is 
promised  to  disciples  gathered  together  in  His  name,  accept 
this  offering,  pardon  its  imperfections,  and  bless  for  the  pro- 
motion of  spirituality  and  righteousness,  whatever  of  sug- 
gestive good  its  pages  may  contain. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction 

CHAPTER  I. 
A  History  of  the  Prayer-Meeting 

CHAPTER  H. 
The  Influence  of  the  Prayer-Meeting 

CHAPTER  HI. 
The  Theory  of  the  Prayer-Meeting  . 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Revival  Prayer-Meeting. 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Inquiry-Meeting  has  taken  its  Place 

CHAPTER  VL 
Moody's  Scripture  Counsels  for  Inquirers 
CHAPTER  Vn. 

The  Value  of  Topics 

CHAPTER   Vni. 
Objections  to  Their  Use       .... 

7 


17 
40 

49 
SI 
59 
67 
84 
88 


8  Contents, 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Objections  Considered 93 

CHAPTER  X. 

Some  Opinions  of  Pastors 99 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Some  Views  OF  Ministers iii 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Typical  Prayer-Meetings 123 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Prayer-Meeting  a  Growth 134 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

How  SHALL  we    get    MEMBERS  TO   TAKE    PART.'        .  .        I38 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Monthly  Concert  for  Missions 145 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  Text-Meeting 158 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

A  Promise-Meeting 167 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

An  Experience-Meeting 172 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
A  Consecration-Meeting 186 

CHAPTER  XX. 
A  Thanksgiving  Prayer-Meeting 192 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Moody's  Praise  Prayer-Meeting 198 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Song  Service  for  the  Prayer-Meeting        .        .        .      213 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Methods  for  Conducting  Bible  Readings  .       ..       .'    226 


Contents.  9 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
A  Watch  Prayer-Meeting       ......      229 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Ladies'  Prayer-Meetings 241 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Tuesday  Evening  Meetings 248 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
Saturday  Night  Prayer-Meetings       ....      255 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
Sunday  Morning  Meetings  for  Prayer        .        .        .      260 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
Childrens'  Inquiry  and  Prayer-Meeting        .        .        .     266 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
Cottage  Prayer-Meetings 273 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
The  Family  Meeting  for  Worship        ....      280 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 
Fulton  Street  Noonday  Prayer-Meeting      .        .        .    288 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
The  Chicago  Noonday  Prayer-Meeting      .        .        .      297 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 
Prayer-Meeting  Conventions        .....      304 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
"  Directory  for  Worship    of    the  United    Presbyte- 
rian   Church" 309 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Moody's  Seventeen   Rules 311 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
Different  Forms  of  Printed  Lists        .        .        .       '.      314 


PEIHCBTOIT 
f^'tC.  ju„  1883 

HSOLOGIOAL 


INTRODUCTION. 


There  are  three  departments  of  the  true  church 
school:  the  biblical  in  the  Sabbath-school;  the  experi- 
mental in  the  class  or  fellowship  meeting;  and  the 
devotional  in  the  prayer-meeting.  In  the  first  we  look 
to  God  in  His  Word ;  in  the  second  we  look  to  God 
as  He  works  within  us ;  in  the  third  we  look  to 
God  himself,  immediately,  reverently,  gratefully  and 
supplicatingly. 

The  several  elements  of  spiritual  culture  may  be 
more  or  less  blended  in  one  service,  as  when  in  the 
prayer-meeting,  personal  experience  is  narrated  and 
specific  biblical  themes  studied ;  or,  as  in  the  Sabbath- 
school  class,  when  a  devout  teacher  in  the  study  of  the 
Word   applies   it   to   individual   experience,  under  the 


12  Introduction.         • 

guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  leads  his  pupils  to 
reverent  worship  under  the  impulse  of  the  truth  thus 
investigated  and  applied. 

While  usually,  the  threefold  service  may  be  more 
effectively  rendered  by  distinct  meetings,  it  is  highly 
imj^ortant  that  they  should  unite  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree  in  every  convocation  of  believers,  whether  for 
study,  the  relation  of  experience,  or  worship. 

Every  Christian  should  be  interested  in  whatever 
tends  to  the  increase  of  personal  experience  in  the 
things  of  God,  on  the  foundation  of  an  intelligent  ap- 
prehension of  God's  Word,  and  with  the  purpose  of 
complete  surrender  to  God;  and  there  is  no  service 
more  imperative  to-day  in  connection  with  church 
activities,  than  that  which  shall  increase  the  efficiency 
of  these  several  branches  of  the  school  of  the  church. 

A  meeting  of  thoughtful  men  and  women  should 
have  some  thought  given  to  it  in  advance,  by  him  who 
is  responsible  for  its  conduct.  Its  object  being  sacred 
and  important,  its  exercises  must  not  be  allowed  to 
drift  into  superficial  and  stereotyped  expressions. 

If  all  good  people  were  wise,  and  all  thoughtful 
people  had  tact,  we  might  be  less  careful  about  lines 
of  thought  by  which  devotional  impulses  and  efforts 
are  to  be  directed.  There  are  devout,  loyal,  and  faith- 
ful people,  who  are  not  endowed  with  the  strongest  kind 
of  common  sense.  What  they  would  be  without  the 
piety  which  holds  them  steady,  we  cannot  say.  That 
they  are  not  perfect  in  judgment,  does  not  militate 
against  the  Gospel  which  brings  to  them  light,  purpose 


Introduction.  13 

and  comfort.  Their  lack  makes  the  leader's  wisdom 
all  the  more  important. 

A  wise  minister  will  exercise  judgment  concerning 
the  place  of  the  prayer  meeting  in  the  list  of  his  church 
services.  He  will  give  it  thought  in  advance  —  devout 
thought.  He  will  come  to  it  with  strength  of  purpose, 
in  the  best  possible  physical  and  mental  conditions. 
He  will  fully  understand  the  perils  and  the  dissipating 
power  of  apathy  and  worldliness,  and  seeking  the  right 
physical  atmosphere  in  the  place  of  meeting,  he  will 
also  seek  by  personal  influence,  by  wise  direction,  by 
sound  sense,  by  believing  prayer,  to  put  a  measure  of 
human  strength  into  the  service,  not  as  a  substitute 
for,  but  as  a  medium,  of  the  divine  strength,  without 
which  the  service  itself  would  be  a  disastrous  failure. 

The  author  of  this  volume  has  given  much  thought 
to  the  questions  involved  in  the  regulation  of  the 
weekly  meetings  for  prayer  in  the  church.  He  has 
observed  closely,  experimented  judiciously,  consulted 
with  persons  of  experience,  pastors  and  others,  and  in 
this  form  brings  to  the  church  the  results  of  his  efforts. 

The  prayer-meeting  can  never  be  made  a  popular 
service,  by  which  we  mean  a  service  attractive  to  un- 
spiritual  minds.  It  can  never  have  the  attractiveness 
of  a  concert  or  public  church  service,  where  music  and 
sermon  cater  more  or  less  to  the  tastes  of  the  average 
worldling  who  frequents  the  sanctuary.  Indeed,  such 
popularity  would  be  unfortunate.  The  prayer-meeting 
is   a  meeting  of    believers.     This    pre-supposes  faith, 


14  Introduction. 

spiritual  tastes,  fervent  desire,  and  the  habit  of  thought- 
fuhiess  in  the    lines  of  evangelical  truth. 

The  prayer-meeting  should  not  be  dependent  for  its 
success  upon  good  voices  to  read,  jDray  or  sing.  The 
introduction  of  elocutionary  and  musical  effects  would 
do  violence  to  the  spirit  of  the  occasion,  and  any  at- 
tempt to  turn  the  week  evening  prayer-meeting  into  a 
popular  assembly  will  be  injurious  to  the  church. 

The  prayer-meeting  will  be  profitable  as  its  exercises 
are  controlled  by  a  leading  thought,  and  the  spontaneity 
of  its  services  unrestrained.  It  must  be  both  con- 
trolled and  free.  The  control  must  be  by  indirection, 
and  never  too  manifest.  It  is  not  a  meeting  of  chil- 
dren, but  of  those  who  are  sufficiently  mature  in  thought 
and  experience  to  know  what  they  are  about,  and  any 
obtrusive  interference  with  personal  freedom  will  work 
harm  to  all  concerned. 

The  book,  thus  introduced  to  our  attention,  will 
commend  itself  to  all  Christian  workers,  by  the  prac- 
tical sense,  large  experience,  the  careful  observation 
and  the  deep  religious  purpose,  which  its  author  has 
brought  to  his  aid  in  its  preparation. 

J.  H.  Vincent. 
Flainfield,  N.  y.,  jfaii.  24,  1880. 


HOW  TO    CONDUCT 

PRAYER- MEETINGS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
A  History  of  the  Prayer-Meeting. 

THERE  is  a  lack  of  literature  on  this  subject. 
Either  the  sphere  filled  by  this  mid-week  ser- 
vice has  revolved  so  quietly  about  the  church  as  to 
have  passed  almost  unobserved,  or  the  work  done 
by  it  has  accomplished  so  little  for  reviving  and 
righteousness  that  there  has  scarcely  been  anything 
to  observe.  In  many  a  church,  the  prayer-meeting  is 
looked  upon  as  a  fifth  wheel  to  its  machinery.  Care- 
ful investigation,  however,  will  show  us  that  the 
prayer-meeting  is  not  a  modern  institution,  and  that 
there  have  been  times  when  its  sphere  has  been 
lighted  up  with  unwonted  brilliancy. 

The  most  recent  phase  of  the  prayer-meeting  to  be 
noted,  is  the  shape  which  it  has  taken  within  a  few 
years  past  of  publishing  its  topics  with  Scripture  ref- 
erences, to  be  used  either  by  a  single  church,  or  a 
number  of  churches  in  concert.  Those  churches  that 
have  engaged  in  the  use  of  uniform  subjects,  find  in 
this  practice  nothing  to  induce  formality ;   nothing  to 


l8  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

dampen  enthusiasm  ;  nothing  to  beget  hypocrisy  and 
set  phrases  in  speech ;  nothing  to  hinder  the  presence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  giveth  Hfe,  and  teacheth  to 
pray ;  in  a  word,  find  in  it  nothing  that  "  kills "  a 
prayer-meeting,  or  says  to  its  members  stay  at  home. 
Far  otherwise.  It  is  this  very  thing  of  coming  to- 
gether in  the  prayer-meeting  with  the  heart  full  of 
Scripture  to  illustrate  the  given  subject,  and  of  pre- 
vious prayer  upon  it  on  the  part  of  the  membership 
that  makes  a  meeting  abound  in  zeal,  in  spirituality, 
and  in  heavenly  refreshment.  "  Again,  I  say  unto 
you.  That  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as 
touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be 
done  for  them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
"If  two  of  you  shall  agree"  —  and  we  cannot  have 
a  •pT2iy&x-meeti7tg  with  a  smaller  number  than  that  — 
what  stronger  Scripture  for  a  topical  prayer-meeting 
do  we  require  ?  The  subject  must  be  proposed  and 
known  before  hand,  before  there  can  be  agreement 
upon  it,  and  does  the  promise  become  of  no  effect 
when  the  parties  to  it  are  not  two  merely,  but  a  hun- 
dred, a  thousand,  or  even  a  million  ?  If  agreement 
between  two  has  its  promise  and  advantage,  surely 
agreement  between  a  million  praying  Christians  must 
also  have  its  promise  and  its  advantage  multiplied  to 
,  correspond  with  such  numerical  increase. 


A    HISTORY   OF  THE  PRAYER-MEETING.  I9 

A  uniform  topical  prayer-meeting  is  well  defined  in 
this  text  of  Scripture  —  agreement  with  reference  to 
what  we  shall  ask  of  our  Father  in  heaven  —  and  let 
us  not  be  afraid  of  such  agreement,  but  rejoice 
the  rather  if  it  should  meet  with  such  fervor  and 
adoption  as  ultimately  to  include  all  prayer-meeting 
churches. 

All  who  are  old  enough,  must  have  noticed  how  much 
nearer  the  evangelical  churches  of  our  land  have  been 
getting  to  each  other,  during  the  last  three  or  four 
decades.  What  fierce  controversies  used  to  rage,  and 
what  bitter  polemic  sermons  used  to  be  hurled  from 
pulpits  against  other  denominations  than  our  own  ! 

I  have  just  been  told  by  a  Christian  gentleman  in 
middle  life,  who  belonged  to  the  Old  School  before 
the  re-union,  that  when  he  was  a  boy  in  Pennsylvania 
he  was  taught  to  believe  "  That  a  New  School  man 
was  a  bad  man."  Now  what  has  wrought  the  won- 
drous change?  I  do  not  hesitate  to  answer  —  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  uniform  Sunday- 
school  lessons,  the  Evangelical  Alliance  and  the  an- 
nual Week  of  Prayer ;  and,  for  my  part,  I  do  not 
doubt  that  uniformity  in  the  texts  of  Scripture  for  the 
prayer-meetings,  would  intensify  the  fraternal  spirit 
and  bring  all  those  who  truly  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  still  nearer  to  each  other. 


20  HOW  TO    CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

Of  the  same  nature  with  the  topical  meetings  for 
prayer,  as  just  intimated,  are  those  meetings  of  con- 
certed prayer  for  missions  and  the  world's  conversion, 
which  are  held  annually,  and  had  their  origin  in  the 
second  week  of  January,  i860.  This  meeting  is  of 
the  same  nature  with  the  Monthly  Concert  for  missions, 
which  was  established  mainly  through  the  influence 
and  labors  of  Andrew  Fuller  in  the  last  century,  and 
with  the  Day  of  Prayer  for  missions  which  was  held 
on  the  first  Monday  of  January,  for  many  years  after 
1830.  The  Monthly  Concert  is  still  very  generally 
observed,  and  the  Day  of  Prayer  has  been  prolonged 
into  the  Week  of.  Prayer,  which  is  observed  annually 
during  the  first  week  of  January. 

The  Week  of  Prayer  is  the  outgrowth  of  an  in- 
tense piety  contemplating  the  Saviour's  command,  the 
wretched  condition  of  the  heathen  world,  and  the 
unrivalled  facilities  for  travel,  commerce,  and  inter- 
national pursuits  which  modern  inventions  have 
opened. 

The  fact,  that  two-thirds  of  the  world  remain  un- 
christian, is  an  obstacle  in  the  path  of  the  steam- 
ship, a  bar  across  the  tr^ck  of  the  railway,  a  hindrance 
to  the  electric  wire  delighting  to  speak  in  all  the 
tongues  of  men,  and  a  delay  to  the   stately  tread   of 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PRAYER-MEETING.  21 

civilization.  When  grace  and  truth  shall  go  abroad 
over  the  earth,  then  shall  darkness  and  superstition 
flee   away. 

But  why  may  not  the  world  be  evangelized  ?  It  is 
so  commanded.  Why  may  not  the  work  be  hastened  ? 
It  is  so  promised  to  those  that  prosecute  it  prayerfully. 
Why,  then,  should  not  the  Christians  of  to-day  —  the 
heroic  one  —  third  —  seriously  undertake  the  work  as 
thus  to  be  helped  by  steam,  electricity,  and  the  press, 
and  as  seriously  pray  for  its  successful  issue  ?  Let 
us  of  the  nineteenth  century  undertake  all  this.  We 
will  do  it,  and  as  results  we  have  already  numerous 
missionary  societies,  Bible  societies,  and  a  week  of 
concerted  prayer.  Would  you  know  what  utility  the 
Week  of  Prayer  subserves,  go  seek  it  in  the  lives 
of  missionaries,  in  converted  accessions  to  mission 
fields,  and  in  the  recorded  requests  and  answers  to 
prayer,  with  which  our  various  missionary  publica- 
tions abound. 

There  is  another  feature  of  the  modern  prayer- 
meeting  that  ought  not  to  be  omitted,  although  its 
occurrence  has  been  such  a  rarity  that  it  lives  in  the 
remembrance  of  only  a  few,  and  that  is  the  holding 
of  prayer-meeting  conventions.  In  1858,  a  convention 
of  this  sort  was  held  in  Xenia,  Ohio,  to  which  invita- 
tions were  very  generally  extended,  and  which  was 


22  HOW  TO   CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

well  attended  during  the  few  days  that  it  was  held. 
As  only  a  very  few  meetings  of  this  kind  have  been 
held,  the  reader  may  ask,  "Why  should  we  not 
hold  prayer-meeting  conventions,  just  as  presbyteries, 
synods,  general  assemblies,  conferences,  associations, 
Bible  institutes  and  Sunday-school  parliaments  are 
held,  with  stated  regularity,  to  acknowledged  utility  and 
unquestioned  increase  of  zeal  and  spirituality  ?  "  Why 
not  ?  It  is  a  fair  question.  The  answer  is  doubtless 
found  in  the  fact  that  a  convention  of  this  nature  to 
amount  to  anything,  requires  a  very  high  degree  of 
praying  piety,  a  very  strong  spirit  of  faith,  an  assured 
conviction  that  God  answers  prayer,  and  an  indiffer- 
ence to  the  gibes  and  sneers  that  might  be  encoun- 
tered in  holding  it,  in  the  midst  of  a  worldly-minded 
community.  These  things  combine  to  make  the  under- 
taking as  rare  as  it  is  arduous. 

A  few  words  in  this  place  will  suffice  for  those 
meetings  now  so  successful,  so  well-known,  and  so 
numerously  held  in  all  the  chief  cities  of  Christendom, 
the  business  men's  noonday  prayer-meetings.  The 
first  one  of  this  kind  was  the  Fulton  street  noonday 
meeting,  which  was  projected  and  fostered  by  the 
Consistory  of  the  North  Dutch  Church,  and  their  city 
missionary,  Mr.  J.  C.  Lanphier.  It  was  begun  as  a 
weekly  noonday  meeting,  and  was   held  for  the  first 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PRAYER-MEETING.  23 

time  in  a  third-story  room  of  the  Old  North  Dutch 
Church  in  New  York  city,  on  Wednesday,  September 
23d,  1857. 

"At  twelve  o'clock  of  that  day,"  says  the  Rev. 
T.  W.  Chambers,  "  the  door  was  thrown  open  and 
the  missionary  took  his  seat  to  await  the  response 
to  the  invitation  that  had  been  given.  After  a  half- 
hour's  delay,  the  steps  of  one  person  were  heard 
as  he  mounted  the  staircase.  Presently  another  ap- 
peared, and  another,  until  the  whole  company 
amounted  to  sLx.  On  the  next  Wednesday,  September 
30th,  the  six  increased  to  twenty,  and  the  subsequent 
week,  October  7  th,  as  many  as  forty  were  present. 
During  the  interval  between  the  first  meeting  and 
the  third,  Mr.  Lanphier  had  consulted  with  Mr.  Wil- 
kin, the  leading  member  of  the  Consistory,  on  the 
propriety  of  making  the  meeting  semi-weekly  or  daily. 
It  seemed  to  them  that  there  was  no  good  reason 
why,  considering  all  the  circumstances,  enough  per- 
sons should  not  be  found  in  that  part  of  the  city 
who  would  be  willing  to  come  together  for  united 
prayer  and  praise  every  day.  They  accordingly  de- 
termined to  introduce  this  change,  but  were  anticipated 
on  the  day  of  the  third  weekly  meeting,  by  a  similar 
proposition  made  and   carried  in  the  meeting  itself." 

The  important  change  was  made  at  once,  the  place 


24  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

was  transferred  from  the  third  story  to  the  room 
below  on  the  second,  and  on  the  eighth  of  October, 
1857,  was  begun  that  great  instrumentality  of  modern 
times,  the  noonday  prayer-meeting,  whose  lines  have 
already  encircled  the  globe,  whose  interest  has  never 
abated,  whose  regularity  neither  war  nor  peace, 
neither  rain  nor  snow  has  extinguished,  and  whose 
influence  eternity  alone  can   measure. 

But  we  are  now  come  to  examine  the  origin  of 
those  prayer-meetings  which  the  evangelical  and  re- 
formed churches  have  been  in  the  habit  of  holding 
on  some  evening  in  the  mid-week,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  these  have  been  held  ever  since  those 
churches  themselves  were  first  established.  The 
Methodist  Church  has  been  pre-eminently  a  prayer- 
meeting  church. 

"  Tl|p  awakenings,"  writes  Dr.  Thos.  Huston,  "  which 
took  place  in  various  parts  of  England,  under  the 
ministry  of  Wesley  and  Whitefield,  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  social  prayer-meetings;  and,  at  this 
period,  when  within  the  pale  of  the  National  Estab- 
lishment, and  without  it,  all  was  under  the  torpor  of 
spiritual  death.  This  organization  was  a  powerful 
means  of  exciting  earnest  minds  to  pursue  after  eter- 
nal concerns,  and  to  impress  them  upon  the  serious 
attention   of  others." 


A    HISTORY   OF  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  25 

We  find,  also,  that  the  social  prayer-meeting  has 
been  a  time-honored  and  highly-prized  instrumentality 
in  the  various  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
throughout  the  world. 

"When  the  prelatic  persecution,"  observes  Dr.  Hus- 
ton, "under  Charles  II.,  drove  three  hundred  faithful 
Presbyterian  ministers  from  their  pulpits,  and  hireling 
curates  were  intruded  upon  their  reluctant  flocks,  the 
value  of  private  social  prayer-meetings  was  again 
experienced,  in  upholding  and  comforting  the  servants 
of  God,  in  evil  times.  Thus  were  they  fitted  for  pa- 
tient endurance  of  privations  and  suffering,  and  thus 
they  were  nerved  for  the  noble  conflict  in  which  they 
engaged  against  Erastian  power.  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  tvyenty-eight  years'  persecution,  when  under 
the  cruel  and  arbitrary  measures  of  the  popish  and 
bigoted  James,  the  number  of  faithful  witnesses  was 
greatly  reduced ;  and  by  indulgences  and  every  other 
means  that  anti-christian  policy  could  invent,  apos- 
tacy  and  defection  were  encouraged,  the  few  resolute 
covenanters  who  remained  had  resource  to  united 
prayer,  and  cultivated  fraternal  fellowship,  as  a  pre- 
cious means  of  preservation  and  safety  amidst  mani- 
fold danger  and  suffering.  Hence,  they  were  called 
'  The  Society  People  ; '  and,  the  history  of  this  disas- 
trous period,  whether  as  written  by  persons  friendly  or 


26  HOW  TO    CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

unfriendly  to  their  cause,  bears  unequivocal  testimony 
that  it  was,  in  a  great  measure,  to  their  cordial  inti- 
mate union,  and  to  their  faithful  exertions,  that  the 
precious  truths  of  the  Gospel  were  preserved,  and  that 
the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  Britain  were  rescued 
from  the  grasp  of  despotic  rulers." 

But  the  value  of  this  meeting  "  of  the  people,  for 
the  people,  and  by  the  people,"  in  maintaining  vital 
godliness,  had  been  discovered  even  earlier  than 
this  : 

"This  noble  old  church,"  writes  Rev.  J.  B.  Johnston, 
"  the  Church  of  Scotland  —  the  mother  of  us  all  —  not 
at  all  particularly  singular  here,  but  like  most  of  the 
daughters  of  the  Protestant  Reformation, ,  was  born 
and  nursed  in  the  prayer-meeting.  Protestantism,  it- 
self, is  a  social  religion  —  a  religion  for  the  people ; 
it  fling^  away  the  shackles  of  papal  t}'ranny  from  the 
conscience,  puts  the  Bible  into  the  hands  of  all,  and 
opens  for  the  masses  free  social  intercourse  and  un- 
restricted Christian  fellowship  ;  and  it  points  to  the 
social  prayer-meeting  for  its  fullest  enjoyment.  The 
Church  of  Scotland,  seems,  from  the  very  incipiency 
of  her  organization,  to  have  recognized  the  claims  of 
the  prayer-meeting  as  a  divine  ordinance,  more  dis- 
tinctly and  formally  than  other  churches  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, which  retained  more  of  the  shadows  of  the 


A    HISTORY   OF  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  1J 

Romish  ritualism.  It  is  well-known  to  all  familiar  with 
its  history,  that  the  Church  of  Scotland  received  much 
of  its  distinctive  character  and  spirit  from  its  leading 
reformer,  John  Knox. 

"While  the  reformer  was  a  refugee  from  persecu- 
tion in  his  own  native  land,  he  wrote  from  the  continent 
in  the  year  1557,  to  his  countrymen  friendly  to  the 
cause  of  the  Reformation,  with  the  express  view  of 
calling  the  people  to  a  leading  and  active  part  in  the 
work,  without  and  independently  of  the  ruling  powers 
both  in  the  church  and  in  the  state.  '  In  October, 
following,'  records  Calderwood,  '  he  sent  some  letters 
to  the  Lords,  and  to  particular  gentlemen,  wherein  he 
proved  that  the  reformation  of  religion  and  public 
enormities  did  appertain  to  more  than  to  the  clergy 
and  chief  rulers.  His  letters  being  read,  it  was  con- 
cluded, after  consultation,  that  they  would  prosecute 
their  purpose  once  intended.  That  every  one  might 
be  the  more  assured  of  the  other,  a  common  band 
was  formed,  wherein  they  promised  before  God,  with 
their  whole  power,  and  hazard  of  their  lives,  to  set 
forward  and  establish  the  true  religion.'  '  In  this 
letter,'  according  to  Dr.  McCrie,  'he  warmly  recom- 
mended to  every  one  the  careful  and  frequent  reading 
of  the  Scriptures.  He  inculcated  the  duty  of  attend- 
ing to  religious  instruction  and  worship  in  each  family. 


28  HOW   TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

He  exhorted  the  brethren  to  meet  together  once  every 
week,  if  practicable,  and  gave  them  directions  for  con- 
ducting their  assembUes  in  the  manner  best  adapted 
to  their  mutual  improvement,  while  destitute  of  public 
teachers.  They  ought  to  begin  with  confession  of 
sins,  and  invocation  of  the  divine  blessing.  A  portion 
of  the  Scriptures  should  then  be  read  ;  and  they  would 
find  it  of  great  advantage  to  observe  a  regular  course 
in  their  reading,  and  to  join  a  chapter  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  together.  After  the  reading  of  the 
Scriptures,  if  an  exhortation,  interpretation,  or  doubt, 
occur  to  any  brother,  he  might  speak ;  but  he  ought 
to  do  it  with  modesty,  and  a  desire  to  edify,  or  to  be 
edified,  carefully  avoiding  multiplication  of  words, 
perplexed  interpretation,  and  willfulness  in  reasoning. 
If,  in  the  course  of  reading  or  conference,  they  met 
with  any  difficulties  which  they  could  not  solve,  he 
advised  them  to  commit  these  to  writing  before  they 
separated,  that  they  might  submit  them  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  learned  ;  and  he  signified  his  own  readi- 
ness to  give  them  his  advice  by  letters  whenever  it 
should  be  required.  Their  assemblies  ought  always 
to  be  closed,  as  well  as  opened,  with  prayer.' 

"  There  is  every  reason  to  conclude  that  these  direc- 
tions were  punctually  complied  with,  and  this  letter, 
therefore   may  be  viewed  as  an  important   document 


A    HISTORY   OF   THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  29 

regarding  the  state  of  the  Protestant  Church  in  Scot- 
land, previous  to  the  establishment  of  the  Reforma- 
tion.' This  letter  certainly  furnishes  a  remarkable 
directory  for  the  government,  order  and  exercises  of 
the  prayer-meeting  among  the  laity." 

And  now  the  churches  whose  records  have  been 
thus  examined,  fail  only  in  that  they  do  not  carry  us 
far  enough  back.  Is  then,  the  people's  meeting  for 
prayer,  praise  and  conference,  no  older  than  the  six 
teenth  century?  Let  us  see.  If  we  cross  over  into 
Italy  we  shall  find  an  interesting  church  existing  there 
to-day,  that  is  Protestant  in  its  faith,  and  Presbyterian 
in  its  form    of  government  —  the  Waldensian  Church. 

Now,  "The  Waldenses,"  writes  Plumley,  "dwelling 
in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  in  the  extreme  northwestern 
part  of  Italy,  claim  that  from  Christ  and  the  apostles 
their  fathers  received  the  doctrines  of  God's  word, 
as  they  have  always  believed  them  and  the  Presbyte- 
rian form  of  church  government,  as  they  have  always 
in  its  simplicity  maintained  it. 

"  One  of  their  earliest  chroniclers,  using  the  re- 
cords and  traditions  of  his  people,  asserts  that  'the 
Waldenses  are  descended  from  those  refugees  who, 
after  St.  Paul  had  preached  to  them  the  Gospel, 
abandoned  their  beautiful  country  and  fled  —  like  the 
woman   mentioned  in  the  Apocalypse  —  to  those  wild 


30  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

mountains,  where  they  have  to  this  day  handed  down 
the  Gospel  from  father  to  son,  in  the  same  purity  and 
simpUcity  as  it  was  preached  to  them.' 

"In  1530,  some  pastors  of  the  Waldenses  wrote 
to  the  Reformers,  who  were  just  coming  out  of  the 
Romish  Church,  to  accept  a  purer  faith,  such  as  they 
had  always  believed,  to  this  effect : 

"  '  That  you  may  at  once  understand  the  matter,  we 
are  a  sort  of  teachers  of  a  certain  necessitous  and  small 
people,  who,  already,  for  more  than  four  hundred 
years  —  nay,  as  those  of  our  country  frequently  relate, 
from  the  times  of  the  apostles  —  have  sojourned 
among  the  most  cruel  thorns,  yet  as  all  the  pious  have 
easily  judged,  not  without  great  favor  of  Christ.'  " 

History  does  not  deny  the  claim  that  this  people 
have  ever  been  faithful  to  their  motto  —  lux  iti  ten- 
ebris  —  light  in  the  darkness  —  and  among  them  do 
we  find  that  continuity  in  faith  and  practice  which 
links  the  prayer-meeting  of  to-day  as  an  organized 
instrumentality  in  the  church,  for  the  promotion  of 
godliness  with  the  times  of  the  apostolic  church.  The 
historian  of  this  people  claim  "  that  in  all  their  emer- 
gencies, they  had  recourse  to  meeting  for  united  prayer, 
as  the  great  means  of  support  and  relief  under  long 
continued  and  severe  persecution,  and  as  the  divinely 
appointed   way  of   animating  the   hope    of   future    de 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  3I 

liverance.  Ecclesiastical  history  records  the  marked 
attention  of  these  early  witnesses  to  this  ordinance  at 
different  periods  of  their  eventful  history;  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  to  it,  in  a  large  measure,  are  to 
be  ascribed  their  remarkable  unity  in  faith,  and  in 
godly  practice,  and  their  heroic  constancy  in  sufferings. 
In  the  latter  period  of  the  Waldensian  trials,  shortly 
before  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation, when  'darkness 
that  might  be  felt,'  had  settled  down  upon  the  nations 
of  Europe ;  when  faithful  witnesses  had  been  almost 
wholly  exterminated ;  when  the  voice  of  public  protest 
against  Rome's  idolatry  and  oppression  was  nowhere 
distinctly  heard  throughout  western  Christendom,  we 
have  on  record  an  affecting  testimony  to  the  value 
which  the  remnant  of  these  ancient  confessors  still 
set  upon  the  social  prayer-meeting." 

If  this  were  all  the  evidence  available,  we  might 
consider  the  connection  complete  with  the  apostolic 
church,  but  there  are  other  sources,  also.  As  the 
Roman  Empire  began  to  persecute  those  Christians 
that  retained  the  primitive  faith  in  its  purity,  they 
sought  shelter  in  the  catacombs  of  Rome  and  kept 
alive  the  sacred  flame  "in  feeding  on  the  word,  and 
in  united  prayer  and  praise." 

And,  besides  this,  we  are  warranted  in  asserting,  on 
the  testimony  of   Pliny,  that  various  bodies  of  Chris- 


32  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

tians  throughout  the  Roman  Empire  were  in  the  habit 
of  meeting  for  prayer  and  praise.  In  the  year  103, 
when  writing  to  the  Emperor  Trojan  on  the  subject  of 
persecution,  he  "  earnestly  dissuaded  him  from  con- 
tinuance in  the  enforcement  of  the  edicts,  and  on  the 
ground  that  the  Christians  were  a  harmless  people, 
chargeable  with  no  offence,  only  they  were  in  the  habit 
of  meeting  together  to  sing  songs,  and  to  worship 
Christ  as  God." 

Thus  the  chief  support  of  religion  during  those 
years  of  persecutions  when  the  Caesars  wielded  the 
Roman  Empire  as  an  engine  for  the  destruction  of 
Christianity,  was  derived  from  those  meetings  for 
song   and   prayer   which    they   held  —  those   meetings 

-      held  in   secret,  at   night   or  early  morn,  where   were 

I  * 

V      gathered  together   the  faithful  band  to  pray  and  sing 

to  Christ  as  their  Saviour.  It  was  by  meetings  such 
as  these  that  they  formed  and  kept  alive  the  sacred 
flame  of  piety  —  that  flame  which  was  afterward  to 
light  up  the  gloom  of  the  catacombs  with  the  hope 
of  heaven  and  immortality ;  it  was  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  their  prayer-meetings  that  this  holy  flame 
was  nourished  which  was  to  shine  so  brightly  among 
the  Waldenses  and  relieve  the  gloom  of  the  dark 
ages,  and  which  by  the  grace  of  God  has  been  so 
reolenished  that  it  now  freely  burns  and  shines  from 


A    HISTORY   OF  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  33 

all  the  hilltops,  and  in  all  the  valleys  of  Christendom. 
As  a  result,  the  church  of  to-day  has  become  a  great 
power,  her  light  shining  clear  as  the  sun,  beautiful 
as  the  moon,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners. 
Surely,  had  the  Csesars  known  it,  that  which  to  Pliny 
seemed  most  harmless  and  insignificant — the  assemb- 
ling of  the  disciples  to  continue  steadfastly  in  prayer — 
was  the  very  thing  they  ought  to  have  feared  most  of 
all  — for  in  these  prayer-meetings  was  forged  that  power 
which  shattered  the  Roman  eagle,  and  destroyed  the 
old-time  Paganism. 

But  even  if  all  these  sources  should  fail  us,  as  usually 
relied  upon,  and  we  could  trace  the  prayer-meeting 
back  no  farther  than  the  sixteenth  centur}^,  can  we 
leap  over  the  gap  and  find  any  meeting  to  correspond 
with  it  in  the  apostolic  church  ?  Is  the  prayer-meeting 
a  modern  institution  like  the  Sabbath-school,  which  V 
is  just  now  completing  its  first  centennial ;  or,  is  it 
founded  and  established  in  the  word  and  ordinances 
of  God? 

In  Acts,  Chapters  one  and  two,  we  find  the  record 
of  the  first  and  longest  prayer-meeting  in  the  history 
of  the  Christian  church.  The  eleven  disciples  were 
assembled  in  an  upper  room  in  Jerusalem,  and  "  con- 
tinued with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  supplication, 
with  the  women,  and  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and 


34  HOW  TO    CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

with  his  brethren  "  to  "  wait  for  the  promise  of  the 
Father,"  and  having  thus  waited  through  ten  days, 
when  "  Pentecost  was  fully  come,"  the  promised  bless- 
ing was  given  unto  them,  and  the  descending  flame  of 
God  anointed  their  lips  and  hearts,  and  fully  en- 
dued them  with  power  for  their  life-work  of  preaching 
Christ,  and  him,  crucified,  risen  and  ascended  into 
heaven.  Nor  was  this  their  only  prayer-meeting.  A 
short  time  afterward,  being  again  assembled,  "  when 
they  had  prayed,  the  place  was  shaken  where  they 
were  assembled  together ;  and  they  were  all  filled 
with  the  Koly  Ghost,  and  they  spake  the  word  of  God 
with  boldness."     (Acts  4:31.) 

Again,  when  Peter  was  imprisoned  the  brethren  came 
together  "  in  the  house  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  John," 
to  pray  for  help  and  deliverance  —  a  topical  prayer- 
meeting —  and,  lo  !  whilst  they  were  continuing  their 
supplications,  the  answer  to  their  prayers  stood  with- 
out in  living  form,  knocking  at  the  door  of  the  house 
for  admittance  that  he  might  declare  unto  "them 
how  the  Lord  had  brought  him  out  of  the  prison." 
(Acts  12  :    5-17.) 

The  Book  of  Acts  clearly  teaches  that  meetings  for 
prayer  were  frequently  and  regularly  held  from  house 
to  house,  to  the  evident  increase  of  their  numbers,  or 


A    HISTORY  OF  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  3'5 

in  more  secluded  places,  or  by  the  side  of  some 
water-course,     (Acts  i6  :    13.) 

But  we  are  even  to  believe  that  the  Saviour  was  in 
the  habit  of  holding  meetings  for  prayer  and  instruc- 
tion with  the  disciples.  We  read  in  the  Gospel  that 
Christ  was  a  man  of  prayer.  He  taught  his  disciples 
to  pra)',  even  as  John  Baptist  had  also  taught  his. 
Olivet  and  Gethesmane  were  places  frequently  chosen 
for  these  meetings  of  prayer,  "  Prayer  with  his  dis- 
ciples apart,  secluded  from  the  multitudes,  was  by  him 
and  others  formed  into  a  religious  habit.  It  was  in 
this  school  of,  prayer  and  religious  conference  —  for 
their  prayer-meetings  were  conference  meetings  —  that 
the  disciples  were  trained  for  that  active  and  religious 
work  of  revival  in  which  they  were  afterwards  em- 
ployed, and  which  turned  the  world  upside  down." 

If  we  read  the  Epistles,  we  shall  discover  that  these 
meetings  for  prayer  were  continued  by  the  churches 
which  the  apostles  had  established.  "The  church  in 
the  house,"  is  twice  mentioned,  and  refers  naturally 
and  beautifully  to  the  prayer-meetings  that  were  held 
in  the  house  of  some  faithful  brother  or  sister.  We 
may  well  believe  that  the  church  at  Rome,  Corinth, 
Colosse,  or  elsewhere,  was  distinguished  for  its  fidelity 
to  the  apostle's  word  and  example,  continuing  stead- 
fast in  prayers,  and  the  breaking  of  bread  from  house 


36  HOW   TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

to  house,  and  not  altogether  following  the  examj^le  of 
some  who  forsook  the  assemblies  for  prayer. 

In  Chapters  twelve,  thirteen  and  fourteen  of  First 
Corinthians,  Paul  gives  some  directions  for  the  proper 
emploj'ment  by  the  church  of  the  various  spiritual 
gifts  of  its  members.  "  How  is  it  then,  brethren  ? " 
asks  the  apostle,  "when  ye  come  together,  ever}'  one 
of  you  hath  a  psalm,  hath  a  doctrine,  hath  a  tongue, 
hath  a  revelation,  hath  an  interpretation.  Let  all 
things  be  done  unto  edifying." 

They  are  to  be  orderly  in  the  parts  and  exercises  of 
the  prayer-meeting,  that  all  might  be  done  to  the 
edifying  of  the  brethren,  and  to  the  good  of  such 
strangers  as  might  be  present.  Now,  prayer  as  to 
its  nature,  is  always  the  same,  but  the  occasions  for 
offering  it,  may  greatly  vary.  The  following  different 
occasions  with  more  or  less  clearness,  may  be  enforced 
by  the  teachings  of  Scripture : 

1.  Prayer  in  secret.     (Matt.  6;  6.) 

2.  Prayer  in  the  family.  (Dan.  6  :  lo;  Acts  lo  :  30  ; 
Ps.  55:    17.)     Possibly   the    "church   in   the   house," 

*  (Rom.  16:5;  I.  Cor.  16  :  19.)  may  mean  the  gather- 
ing together  the  household  for  prayer.  An  inference 
also,  may  be  derived  from  the  use  of  the  word  "  ye," 
in  Matt.  6  :  7. 

3.  Prayer  in   the   social  gatherings   of   the  elect,  as 


A   HISTORY   OF  THE   PRAYER-MEETING,  37 

distinct   from   the  services   of  the   Christian  as   these 
had  been  based   upon   the   model    of   the  services  in 
the  synago^e.     (Acts  1:14;  Acts  4:31;  Acts  12:5 
Acts  16  ;  13  ;  etc.) 

4.  Private  prayer  in  synagogue  or  the  temple.  (Matt. 
6:5;   Luke  18  ;    10.) 

5.  Public  prayer  in  the  temple.  (II.  Chron.  6  :  14-42.) 
And  if  it  be  asked  what  became  of  the  early  prayer- 
meeting  when  Christianity  planted  the  banner  of  the 
cross  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  panthenon  and  the 
coliseum,  we  may  answer  in  brief  that  as  the  church 
became  great  and  powerful  by  its  alliance  with  the 
empire,  it  was  corrupted  by  the  incorporation  of  un- 
converted men  —  of  men  christened,  but  not  christian- 
ized—  who  united  with  it,  caring  nothing  for  piety 
and  vital  godliness,  but  a  great  deal  for  power  and  self- 
aggrandizement.  It  was  then  that  those  meetings 
from  house  to  house,  for  conference,  prayer  and  praise, 
became  antiquated,  and  the  Roman  Church  in  its 
hierarchy  entered  upon  that  career  of  usurpation  and 
spiritual  tyranny  that  has  well-nigh  resulted  in  the 
total  subversion  of  a  free  Gospel  and  a  pure  faith. 

The  same  tendency  is  manifest  in  any  local  Pro- 
testant Church  to-day,  when  its  members  become  cold 
and  indifferent.  But  little  is  thought  of  the  prayer- 
meeting,  only  a  few  attend,  the  fires  upon    the  social 


38  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS.         .     ' 

altar  burn  low,  and   both   they  and   the  world   think, 
"of  what  use  or  avail  is  such  a  meeting  as  this?" 

It  was  for  some  such  reason  that  the  prayer-meeting 
was  never  incorporated  into  the  Romish  Church,  or 
that  having  been  incorporated,  it  was  destroyed  by  the 
worldly  spirit  of  a  usurping  priesthood,  and  the  indiffer- 
ence of  a  worldly-minded  membership.  There  is  to-day 
in  this  Church  too  great  a  distance  between  the  priests 
and  the  people,  between  bishops,  cardinals  and  pope, 
to  admit  of  such  equality  and  fraternity  as  the  social 
meeting  for  conference,  prayer  and  praise  would  intro- 
duce. It  is  true  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  always 
open  for  prayer,  but  is  not  for  the  fellowship  prayer- 
meeting  in  which  the  people  shall  be  permitted  to  pray 
to  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  in  such  words  as  the  Spirit 
shall  then  and  there  teach  them  to  utter.  It  is  open, 
the  rather,  for  private  prayer,  (and  that  so  far  as  it  goes 
is  well  enough)  for  the  counting  of  beads,  the  adoration 
of  saints,  the  sprinkling  of  holy  water,  the  confessional 
and  priestly  absolution  (and  these  so  far  as  they  go 
have  little  spiritual  value,  because  they  usurp  the  place 
of  Christ).  Let  but  the  Romish  Church  give  to  its 
people  an  open  Bible,  and  open  their  churches  and 
cathedrals  tor  social  prayer  and  praise,  and  who  does 
not  see  that  primitive  piety  would  be  revived,  or  as 
great  a  revival  of  religion  in  that  church  would  take 


A   HISTORY   OF  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  39 

place,  as  was  witnessed  when,  under  the  lead  of  the  re- 
formers, the  Bible  was  given  to  the  people,  and  the 
apostolic  prayer-meeting  was  re-established  ? 

And  thus,  the  prayer-meetings  of  Christ,  of  the  apos- 
tles, and  of  the  early  Christian  churches  by  them 
founded,  holds  out  a  historic  link,  to  which  may  be  fas- 
tened the  meetings  for  song  and  prayer  which  Pliny 
mentioned,  the  meetings  held  in  the  catacombs  of 
Rome,  the  meetings  of  the  pious  and  heroic  Waldenses, 
the  restored  meetings  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the 
meetings  for  social  prayer  which  your  church  holds,  and 
which  you  are  in  the  habit  of  attending. 


CHAPTER    II. 

The  Influence  of  the  Prayer-Meeting. 

IT  is  evident,  from  the  sketch  I  have  just  given,  that 
the  state  of  vital  godliness  in  any  church  or  denom- 
ination, at  any  time  of  its  histor}'-,  may  be  inferred  from 
its  prayer-meetings,  and  the  place  they  have  filled  at 
the  time  considered.  Seasons  of  spiritual  prosperity 
have  been  times  when  social  prayer  predominated. 

Its  influence  upon  the  church  itself  is  as  various  as 
the  manifestations  of  its  life,  faith,  and  hope.  At  the 
foundation  of  all  healthful  activity  in  the  prayer-meet- 
ing will  be  found  the  habit  of  secret  prayer.  It  is 
secret  prayer  that  builds  up  a  strong  and  robust  individ- 
ual Christian  character.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  all 
the  truly  great  men  of  the  church  —  men  whose  lives 
have  been  to  the  earth  as  its  saving  salt,  from  righteousJ 
Abel  down-  to  the  present  —  have  been  men  of  secret! 
prayer,  who  like  Enoch  have  walked  with  God  during 
all  their  life.  The  first  mark  of  Saul's  conversion  is 
stated  by  the  evangelist  to  have  been,  "  Behold,  he 
prayeth."  With  the  statement  of  that  convincing  proof, 
40 


A    HISTORY   OF  THE  PRAYER-MEETING.  4I 

Ananias  ceased  to  be  afraid  of  one  who  had  hitherto,  as 
the  great  enemy  of  the  new  faith,  made  havoc  of  the 
church. 

"  I  fear,"  said  Mar)^,  Queen  of  the  Scots,  "  the 
prayers  of  John  Knox  more  than  an  army  of  ten  thou- 
sand men." 

The  second  great  reformation  of  the  modern  church 
had  its  origin  in  that  little  band  of  praying  students  at 
Oxford,  composed  of  Whitefield,  the  two  Wesleys,  and 
twelve  others  —  a  movement  in  its  importance  scarcely 
second  to  any  in  the  whole  history  of  the  church.  We 
need  not  seek  far  to  find  the  sources  of  that  mighty 
power  which  Whitefield  wielded.  "  Whenever  I  knelt 
down,"  said  he,  "  I  felt  great  pressure  both  on  soul  and 
body  ;  and  have  often  prayed  under  the  weight  of  them 
till  the  sweat  came  through  me.  God  only  knows  how 
many  nights  I  have  lain  upon  my  bed,  groaning  under 
what  I  felt.  Whole  days  and  weeks  have  I  spent  in 
lying  prostrate  on  the  ground,  in  silent  or  vocal 
prayer." 

It  is  prayer  that  gives  healthy  arterial  blood  to  the 
spiritual  man,  and  makes  him  a  power  for  righteous- 
ness that  surpasses  an  army  of  prayerless  Christians. 
It  is  by  prayer  that  the  man  of  God  takes  hold  of  un- 
seen spiritual  forces  that  originate  at  the  throne  of  God, 
and  move,  shake,  and  control  the  world  in  the  interests 


42  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

of  grace  and  salvation,  of  faith  and  active  godliness. 
Oh,  for  an  army  of  praying  fathers  and  mothers  !  Oh, 
for  a  cohort  of  praying  Luthers,  Whitefields,  and  Wes- 
leys  !  Oh,  for  a  band  of  men  and  women  hke  Simeon 
and  Anna,  to  spend  days  and  nights  in  prayer ;  for 
such  as  these  find  what  Archimedes  vainly  sought,  a 
standing  place  from  which  to  move  the  world,  and  then 
should  we  witness,  even  in  our  day,  the  birth-throes  of 
Pentecost. 

"  Prayer  makes  the  darkened  clouds  withdraw, 
Prayer  climbs  the  ladder  Jacob  saw, 
Gives  exercise  to  faith  and  love, 
Brings  every  blessing  from  above. 

Restraining  prayer  we  cease  to  fight ; 
Prayer  makes  the  Christian's  armor  bright ; 
And  Satan  trembles  when  he  sees 
The  weakest  saint  upon  his  knees." 

If  this  be  so,  what  an  influence  for  good  is  allowed 
to  lie  dormant  in  our  churches  in  connection  with  their 
prayer-meetings.  It  is  the  opinion  of  Moody,  that  in 
nothing  does  the  church  of  to-day  more  fail,  than  in 
the  holding  of  her  prayer-meetings.  "  I  have  noticed," 
he  said  in  the  New  York  Hippodrome,  "  that  in  travel- 
ling up  and  down  the  country,  and  after  mingling  with 
a  great  many  ministers,  that  it  is  not  the  man  that  can- 
preach  the  best  that  is  the  most  successful,  but  the  man 


THE  INFLUENCE    OF  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  43 

that  knows  how  to  get  his  people  together  to  pray.  He 
has  more  freedom.  It  is  so  much  easier  to  preach  to 
an  audience  that  is  in  full  sympathy  with  you,  than 
to  those  who  are  criticising  all  the  time.  It  chills 
your  heart  through  and  through.  Now,  if  we  could 
only  have  our  prayer-meetings  what  they  ought  to  be, 
and  get  people  to  go,  not  out  of  any  sense  of  duty, 
but  because  they  delight  to  go,  it  would  be  a  great 
help  to  a  minister  in  his  Sunday  services." 

The  prayer-meeting,  likewise,  has  its  influence  upon 
the  social  life  of  the  church.  Prayer,  song  and  re- 
ligious conference,  are  evidences  of  the  highest  spirit- 
ual fellowship  and  communion  that  saints  enjoy  here 
below.  There  is  in  these  meetings  the  power  of  sym- 
pathy and  oneness  that  make  them  a  reflex  image  of 
that  larger  and  nobler  meeting  above,  where  is  ful- 
ness of  joy  and  pleasures  forever  more. 

The  influence  of  the  prayer-meeting  is  still  farther 
seen  in  this,  that  it  promotes  the  spirit .  of  revival  and 
beneficence.  Modern  missions  had  their  birth  in  a 
a  revived  piety ;  "  nor  can  it  be  denied,"  observes 
Rev.  J.  B.  Johnston,  "  that  revivals  are  the  offspring 
of  prayer.  God's  Spirit  prepares  for  revival  and  for 
mission  work  —  as  for  every  other  good  work  —  first 
by  pouring  out  upon  His  people  a  spirit  of  grace  and 
supplication.     This   leads  them  to  the  prayer-meeting, 


44  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

to  ask,  in  concert,  for  a  revival ;  they  are  revived,  and 
so  fitted  for  every  good  work,  in  answer  to  prayer. 
Tliat  the  missionary  spirit  of  modern  times,  which  has 
revolutionized  the  church,  and  which  is  now  turning 
the  world  upside  down,  caught  its  inspiration  from 
the  revival  of  religion,  no  one  conversant  with  the 
history  of  the  times  will  doubt.  It  is  equally  true,  that 
the  revival  of  religion  and  of  missions,  both  received 
their  new  impulses  from  the  life-invigorating  spirit  of 
prayer  —  social  and  concerted  prayer,  eminently.  Their 
historic  connection  and  spiritual  affinity  are  clearly 
traceable,  awarding  to  the  prayer-meeting  that  awaken- 
ing power  which  has  vigorously  put  into  operation 
those  world-renowned  agencies  (Tract,  Bible  and  Mis- 
sionary Societies),  which  are  now  so  gloriously,  under 
the  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  evangelizing  the  world." 
American  missions  were  born  in  prayer  and  the 
prayer-meeting.  "  By  means  of  this  influence,"  saj's 
Dr.  Humphrey,  "  Mills  prevailed  to  diffuse,  through 
a  circle  of  choice  spirits,  that  zeal  for  missions 
which  actuated  his  own  breast.  On  Wednesday  after- 
noons they  used  to  retire  for  prayer  to  the  bottom 
of  a  valley,  south  of  the  west  college  and  on  Sat- 
urday afternoons,  when  they  had  more  leisure,  to  the 
more  remote  meadow  on  the  bank  of  the  H'oosack, 
and    there,  under  the  hay-stack,   those  young  Elijahs 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF   THE    PRAYER-MEETING.  45 

prayed  into  existence  the  embryo  of  American  mis- 
sions. They  carried  this  with  them  to  Andover,  where 
it  has  roused  into  missionaries  many  that  have  gone 
to  the  heathen,  and  where  it  is  still  exerting  a  powerful 
influence  on  the  interests  of  the  world.  I  have  been 
in  situations  to  know,  that  from  the  counsels  in  that 
sacred  conclave  —  the  prayer-meeting  in  the  valley  and 
under  the  hay-stack  —  or  from  the  mind  of  Mills 
himself,  arose  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions,  and  also  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety, and   the  United  Foreign  Missionary  Society." 

Its  influence  goes  out  to  the  community  in  which 
the  prayer-meeting  is  held,  and  out  beyond  that  to 
the  mission  stations  of  the  world.  We  may  take  the 
history  of  the  Fulton  street  noon  day  meeting  as  an 
example  of  its  far-reaching  power  for  good,  and  a 
type  for  the  model  prayer-meeting. 

Dr.  Prime,  the  esteemed  editor  of  the  JV.  Y.  Observer, 
has  written  three  books,  "  The  Power  of  Prayer,"  "  Five 
Years  of  Prayer,"  and  "  Fifteen  Years  of  Prayer,"  in 
which  he  has  graphically  and  eloquently  depicted  some 
of  the  more  remarkable  conversions  connected  with 
that  meeting.  "  Five  years  ago  "  wrote  Dr.  Prime  in 
1863,  in  the  introductory  chapter  to  his  second  book  on 
prayer,  '"The  Power  of  Prayer,'  was  published.  It 
was  hailed  with  wonderful  interest  in  this  country  and 


46  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

abroad.  It  was  republished  in  England  and  Scotland  ; 
widely  circulated  in  Wales  and  Ireland;  two  transla- 
tions were  printed  in  France,  and  another  in  the  East, 
and  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  copies  distributed 
and  read.  In  many  places  in  this,  and  foreign  coun- 
tries, public  meetings  were  held,  and  chapters  read 
from  it  to  quicken  the  desire  and  faith  of  Christians, 
and  to  encourage  them  in  prayer  for  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  a  large  number  of  villages  and 
rural  congregations,  revivals  of  religion  followed  the 
reading  of  these  remarkable  facts.  The  author  has 
a  letter  now  in  his  hands,  addressed  to  him  from  a 
foreign  land,  informing  him  that  its  perusal  had  re- 
sulted in  the  conversion  of  a  pastor  and  a  precious 
revival  in  his  church.  Requests  for  prayer  in  behalf 
of  individuals  and  communities  have  reached  them  in 
various  languages,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
where  the  knowledge  has  gone  of  what  God  is  doing 
for  His  people  here,  in  answer  to  their  petitions. 

"  That  publication  was  made  after  the  Fulton  street 
prayer-meeting  had  been  in  existence  one  year.  Within 
tliat  brief  season  the  record  was  so  gracious  and  glo- 
rious as  to  fill  heaven  and  earth  with  joy.  Now  that 
five  years  more  have  passed  away,  bearing  with  them 
the  fruits  of  Christian  labor  and  prayer,  it  has  seemed 
-to  many,  that   duty  to  Him  who    hears   and  answers 


THE    INFLUENCE  OF  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  47 

prayer,  requires  that  another  report  should  be  made. 
A  vast  number  of  facts  have  accumulated  which  are 
well  authenticated,  and  having  been  tested  by  time, 
the  genuineness  of  the  results  is  established." 

If  you  would  know  what  the  influence  of  a  truly 
spiritual  prayer-meeting  is,  and  ought  to  be,  you  have 
only  to  read  the  glowing  pages  of  these  three  books, 
and  full  conviction  will  follow.  There  is,  in  the  hand- 
ful of  earnest  praying  Christians,  meeting  week  by 
week,  an  instrumentality  of  tremendous  spiritual  force 
which,  if  rightly  directed,  might  be  used  for  the 
awakening  of  an  entire  community.  No  more  need 
be  said  in  this  connection,  than  that  the  seasons  in 
which  the  church  has  spiritually  prospered,  are  the 
seasons  when  the  prayer-meeting  has  kindled  anew  the  ■'' 
flames  of  devotion  and  revival.  I  need  not  here  more 
than  say  that  the  prayer-meeting  has  its  influence  upon 
the  pastorate ;  has  its  influence  upon  the  organic  life  i/ 
of  the  church ;  has  its  influence  upon  the  active  piety 
of  its  membership ;  has  its  influence  upon  family  life 
and  family  religion ;  has  its  influence  upon  the  spiritual 
work  of  the  Sabbath-school.  I  need  not  here  more 
than  say,  that  under  its  heavenly  spirit  it  originates 
multiplied  forms  of  charity  and  self-denial  for  the 
good  of  others  ;  that  it  originates  and  fosters  a  spirit 
of  missions ;  that  it  establishes  and  perpetuates  Tract 


48  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

and  Bible  Societies;  that  it  forms  and  maintains  various 
other  organizations  for  evangelical  labor,  both  at  home 
and  abroad. 

What  then,  in  view  of  all  this,  ought  to  be  the  place 
which  such  an  institution  as  this  ought  to  hold  in 
your  confidence  and  esteem ;  what  ought  to  be  the 
place  which  the  prayer-meeting  of  your  church  and 
attendance  ought  to  occupy  in  the  midst  of  the  com- 
munity where  it  has  been  planted  ?  Is  there  nothing 
that  you  can  do  by  which  to  improve  the  spirituality 
of  your  prayer-meeting,  and  lift  it  still  higher  in  its 
usefulness  and  reviving  power  ?  Shall  it  not  receive 
from  you,  and  does  it  not  demand,  your  best  thoughts, 
your  prayers,  your  presence,  and  spicit-directed  co- 
operation?    And  still  — 

"  What  various  hindrances  we  meet 
In  coming  to  a  mercy-seat ! 
Yet  who  that  knows  the  worth  of  prayer 
But  wishes  to  be  often  there." 


CHAPTER   III. 
The  Theory  of  the  Prayer-Meeting. 

IT  will  help  us  in  the  conduct  of  the  prayer-meeting, 
if  we  get  a  correct  theory  of  what  kind  of  a  meeting 
it  ought  to  be.  Is  it  a  "revival  service"  for  the  con- 
version of  the  impenitent ;  or,  in  the  main,  a  meeting  of 
Christians  for  conference  and  edification  ?  Whether  it 
is  one  or  the  other  will  depend  upon  the  class  of  per- 
sons who  attend  the  regular  prayer-meeting.  The 
usual  prayer-meeting,  as  a  rule,  is  attended  by  profes- 
sing Christians.  It  is  rarely  the  case  that  non-profes- 
sors of  religion  drop  in ;  they  do  it,  occasionally,  as  a 
matter  of  curiosity,  or  to  oblige  friends,  and  the  like  — 
not  that  they  are  not  welcome  ;  but  I  speak  of  what  is 
the  custom.  And  if  the  usual  prayer-meetings  of  the 
church,  year  in  and  year  out,  are  mainly  the  meetings 
of  Christians,  then  the  services  in  their  nature  ought  to 
be  shaped  more  with  reference  to  the  spiritual  interests 
of  those  who  come,  than  with  reference  to  those  who 
rarely,  or  never  come. 

If  this  view  be  correct,  then  the  usual  services  ought 
to  consist  of  a  Scripture  lesson,  and  opportunities  for 
49 


50  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

prayer,  praise,  exhortation,  the  narration  of  experience, 
the  expression  of  testimony  to  the  power  of  Christian 
truth  and  grace  in  times  of  trial,  temptation,  and  vic- 
tor}', and  such  references  from  the  Scripture  lesson,  with 
illustrations  from  facts,  principles,  and  experience,  as 
shall  tend  to  develop  the  Christian  gifts  of  the  church, 
and  build  up  a  holy  character  in  its  members.  The 
prayer-meeting  is  a  training-school  for  the  promotion  of 
godliness,  the  increase  of  love,  the  strengthening  of 
faith,  the  quickening  of  hope,  and  the  stirring  up  the 
mind  of  the  brethren  to  renewed  zeal,  diligence  and 
fidelity  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. 

Such  questions,  then,  as  who  are  the  people  that 
habitually  attend,  what  is  their  number,  what  has  been 
Christian  nurture,  who  are  those  who  take  part  in  its 
exercises,  and  how  many  are  there  with  speaking  and 
praying  gifts  to  be  cultivated,  will  lead  us  to  the  true 
theory  for  our  own  prayer-meetings.  Whether  it  shall 
be  a  "  social  prayer-meeting,"  or  a  "  revival  prayer- 
meeting,"  will  depend  very  much  upon  what  we,  with 
God's  help,  shall  make  it ;  for  we  ought  to  hold  no 
other  theory  than  one  whose  workings  will  spiritually 
improve  those  who  attend,  and  all  who  can  be  induced 
to  attend. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
The  Revival  Prayer-Meeting. 

A  WRITER,  who  very  kindly  reviewed  "  The 
Prayer-Meeting  and  its  Improvement,"  in  Scrib- 
ner's  Monthly,  for  Feb.,  1879,  remarked  that  the  ideal 
prayer-meeting  of  this  book  "  is  what  one  may  call  re- 
vivalistic."  How  far  this  remark  is  applicable,  will  de- 
pend upon  the  precise  meaning  given  to  the  term 
*' revivalistic."  I  think,  however,  quite  a  difference 
will  be  observed  between  the  social  prayer-meeting,  and 
what  has  generally  been  known  as  the  revival  prayer- 
meeting,  if  a  brief  description  of  the  nature  and  methods 
of  the  latter  be   here  introduced. 

In  1840,  the  Rev.  Robert  Young,  a  Wesley  an  min- 
ister, published  in  London  a  tractate  whose  object  was 
to  remove  prejudices  against  the  revival  prayer-meeting, 
and  to  offer  some  suggestions  for  its  conduct.  This 
prayer-meeting  was  always  held  after  a  preaching 
service. 

"  My  general  plan,"  he  wrote,  "  is  to  close  the  regular 
5* 


52  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

service,  that  those  persons  may  withdraw  who  think 
proper  to  do  so.  I  then  commence  the  service  of  tlie 
prayer-meeting  by  singing  a  hymn  ;  and  when  the  per- 
sons withdrawing  have  left  the  chapel,  I  request  a 
leader  or  local  preacher  to  pray.  After  prayer  I  deliver 
a  short  address,  and  urge  upon  every  sinner  present,  as 
God  may  give  me  ability,  the  necessity  of  an  immediate 
attention  to  the  concerns  of  the  soul,  and  affectionately 
invite  all  who  may  be  convinced  of  sin,  and  willing  to 
make  an  entire  surrender  of  themselves  to  God  on  Gos- 
pel terms,  to  come  forward  to  the  place  assigned  for 
penitents,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  mercy ;  explaining, 
at  the  same  time,  my  reasons  for  the  plan  recommended. 
Generally  there  is  a  solemn  pause  for  a  short  time  ; 
then  one  and  another  come  forward  with  anxious  looks, 
and  some  with  bitter  tears,  to  humble  themselves  before 
the  Lord.  A  hymn  suited  to  the  occasion  is  next  sung 
by  the  congregation,  and  in  the  meantime  all  that  have 
presented  themselves  as  seekers  of  salvation  are  spoken 
to,  and  instructed  according  to  their  respective  con- 
ditions. Earnest  prayer  is  now  offered  to  God  for 
them,  and  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two,  generally 
speaking,  most  of  them  profess  to  obtain  redemption 
through  the  blood  of  Christ,  even  the  forgiveness  of 
their  sins,  and,  like  the  publican  go  down  to  their 
houses  justified.     Never  more  than  one  person  at  the 


THE  REVIVAL   PRAYER-MEETING.  53 

same  time  is  permitted  to  pray  aloud  ;  nor  is  the  prac- 
tice of  singing  tunes  at  the  same  time  ever  tolerated. 
And  if  on  any  occasion  there  are  indications  of  mere 
animal  excitement,  all  present  are  requested  to  take 
their  seats,  excepting  the  penitents,  who  still  remain 
kneeling,  and  I  address  them  on  subjects  likely  to  lead 
to  solemn  and  orderly  devotion ;  and  I  have  never 
known  such  a  measure  fail  in  producing  the  desired 
effect.  My  usual  plan  is  likewise  to  deliver  two  or 
three  short  and  pointed  addresses  during  the  meeting, 
in  which  the  penitents  are  not  only  directed  and  en- 
couraged, and  the  plan  of  salvation  simplified,  but  the 
congregation  cautioned  against  resisting  the  influence 
graciously  vouchsafed,  and  invited  and  urged  to  co- 
operate with  God  in  earnestly  praying  for  the  conversion 
of  those  whom  He  has  convinced  of  sin." 

And  against  the  objection  that  a  service  of  this  kind 
following  the  sermon,  threw  the  affairs  of  the  household 
into  disorder,  and  disarranged  domestic  duties,  he 
stated,  that  such  meetings  ought  never  "  on  any  occa- 
sion, to  be  held  later  than  ten  o'clock,  and  never  so 
late  as  that,  unless  there  be  a  very  special  influence 
felt.  The  heads  of  families  engaging  in  them  should 
invariably  have  family  worship  before  they  come  to  the 
evening  service,  that  no  loss  at  home  may  be  sustained 
by  their  exertions  in  the  prayer-meeting.     This  plan,  I 


54  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS.     ' 

know,  is  adopted  by  many  excellent  prayer-leaders  with 
good  effect." 

And  to  the  question  why  such  meetings  as  these  were 
not  more  generally  conducted  by  all  pious  ministers  of 
the  Gospel,  he  replied,  that  all  might  not  be  convinced 
of  their  utility.  One  who  has  never  held  such  meetings 
has  been  pre-prejudiced  against  them  by  the  representa- 
tions he  has  heard  from  others  ;  "  or,  "perhaps,  he  has 
been  present  at  such  meetings,  where  no  minister  or 
competent  person  took  their  management,  and  has  been 
shocked  with  their  disorder  and  apparent  irreverence ; 
or  he  may  possibly  have  known  persons  accustomed  to 
take  a  prominent  part  in  such  assemblies,  not  so  up- 
right in  their  walk  and  conversation  as  they  ought  to 
have  been,  and  has  therefore  felt  disgusted.  Another 
reason  may  be  found  in  the  pride  of  intellect.  It  is  a 
very  prevailing  opinion,  that  for  a  minister  to  engage  in 
a  prayer-meeting  after  preaching,  and  endeavor  to  get 
the  people  saved  before  they  leave  the  sanctuary,  is  a 
very  unintellectual  thing,  and  that  none  but  ministers 
of  a  low  grade  of  intellect  will  countenance  it. 

"I  once  heard  a  very  highly  esteemed  individual  say 
that  he  did  not  want  a  prayer-meeting  revivalist  for  his 
minister,  but  an  intellectual  man.  How  far  this  opinion 
is  founded  in  truth,  I  shall  not  now  stop  to  inquire, 
it  being  enough  for  my  present  purpose  mierely  to  state 


THE  REVIVAL  PRAYER-MEETING.  55 

that  such  an  opinion  most  certainly  exists ;  and,  in 
all  probability,  it  is  the  chief  reason  which  prevents 
some  men  from  engaging  in  revival  prayer-meetings ; 
for  it  must  require  much  grace  for  a  man  of  brilliant 
parts  to  be  made  willing  to  be  counted  a  fool  for 
Christ's  sake;  and  not  the  less  for  those  who  desire 
to  be  considered  as  possessing  those  parts,  to  submit 
to  a  mode  of  working  that  is  deemed  so  unintellectual. 
But  there  is  another  cause,  not  yet  mentioned,  which 
operates,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  to  prevent 
other  ministers  from  engaging  in  revival  prayer- 
meetings —  they  are  convinced  of  their  utility,  would 
be  willing  to  endure  any  reproach  in  the  path  of 
duty,  and  do  anything  to  save  souls ;  but  they  think 
they  have  no  adaptation  for  this  kind  of  work,  and  are 
thereby  deterred  from  engaging  in  it,  I  know  this  is 
the  case  with  some  of  my  most  esteemed  brethren  in 
the  ministry,  the  latchet  of  whose  shoes  I  am  unworthy 
to  unloose.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  the  con- 
ducting of  such  meetings,  after  a  hard  day's  labor, 
such  as  Wesleyan  ministers  generally  have  on  the 
Sabbath,  required  a  physical  energy  which  every  man 
does  not  possess  ;  and  some  who  possess  it,  choose 
to  meet  the  society  according  to  Mr.  Wesley's  direc- 
tions, to  administer  special  advice,  and  thus  endeavor 
to   perform    the   very  important   work   of   building   up 


56  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

and  establishing  the  church,  rather  than  engage  in  a  • 
service  for  which  they  feel  themselves  less  qualified." 

Mr.  Young  did  not  claim  to  be  successful  in  all 
those  meetings,  but  the  cause  of  his  failure  and  disap- 
pointment he  found  to  exist  "  in  the  sins  and  imper- 
fections of  man.  For  several  years,  I  have,  on  an 
average,  held  annually  about  forty  such  meetings ; 
and  in  all  those  meetings,  with  the  exception  of  four, 
some  persons  have  professed  to  obtain  salvation.  In 
one  of  the  meetings,  where  no  apparent  good  was 
done,  there  was  manifestly  too  much  confidence  placed 
in  man,  and  God  therefore  withheld  his  blessing ;  and 
in  another,  the  wildness  of  an  untutored  people,  that 
could  not  be  controlled,  evidently  grieved  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  prevented  good  from  being  effected." 

And  his  revival  prayer-meetings  of  this  kind  were 
generally  followed  by  a  brief  religious  conversation, 
conducted  by  two  or  three  pious  and  judicious  class- 
leaders  in  an  adjoining  vestry,  w^here  the  converts 
"might,  in  the  absence  of  excitement,  endeavor  to 
ascertain  how  far  the  work  was  genuine.  There  was 
also  a  person  in  the  vestry  to  take  the  addresses  of 
such  professed  converts,  with  the  view  of  their  being 
visited  in  the  course  of  the  week  at  their  own  houses. 
A  correct  list  of  the  persons  thus  obtained,  was  sent 
to  the  leaders'  meeting  on*  Wednesday  evening,  where 


THE  REVIVAL   PRAYER-MEETING.  57 

it  was  divided  among  the  leaders,  who  kindly  engaged 
to  visit  all  the  persons  whose  names  were  found  on 
that  list,  with  the  view  of  encouraging  their  hearts  in 
the  Lord,  and  of  getting  them  to  meet  in  class,  if  not 
already  connected  with  some  section  of  the  Christian 
Church.  Those  who  did  not  really  seem  to  have 
found  peace  with  God,  in  these  conversations,  received 
a  little  book  called  '  The  Serious  Inquirer  After  Sal- 
vation, Affectionately  Addressed,'  which  simplified  the 
way  of  salvation ;  and  those  whose  case  seemed  more 
hopeful,  received  a  little  book  called  '  The  New  Con- 
vert, Directed  and  Encouraged.' 

"  The  date  of  the  year,  and  the  name  of  each  indi- 
vidual, receiving  either  of  these  books,  were  inscribed 
thereon,  and  if  he  should  after  prove  unfaithful,  the 
little  book,  with  its  inscription,  might,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  recall  to  his  mind  impressions  and  enjoy- 
ments lost,  and  thus,  as  an  humble  monitor,  lead  him 
again  to  repentance." 

I  have  also  quoted  thus  at  length  from  one  who 
so  highly  valued  this  method,  that  each  leader  of  a 
prayer-meeting  may  decide  for  himself  how  far  such 
exercises  could  be  profitably  conducted  by  him  and 
his  people.  This  matter  admits  of  trial  by  those 
who  think  that  the  services  of  the  regular  prayer- 
meeting   should    be   strictly  revivalistic.     With   many 


58  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

mid-week  prayer-meetings,  are  connected  a  variety  of 
peculiar  circumstances,  liable  to  arise  as  hindrances. 
As  a  general  thing,  not  one-half,  nor  one-fourth,  it 
may  be,  of  the  church  membership,  attend  regularly 
the  prayer-meeting.  Then,  again,  there  is  but  a  very 
small  number  trained  or  qualified  to  take  part  in  the 
exercises.  And  still  farther,  to  this  meeting  the  uncon- 
verted never,  or  but  rarely  come.  In  cases  of  this 
kind,  it  seems  judicious  to  adapt  the  services  to  the 
spiritual  needs  of  those  who  habitually  come,  than 
with  reference  to  those  who  are  habitually  absent.  But 
if  a  service  of  this  kind  can  be  kept  up  continuously 
the  entire  year,  and  then  year  after  year  by  the  same 
leader,  in  a  country  charge,  or  in  a  small  community, 
or  even  in  a  city,  and  each  meeting,  or  at  least  as  a 
rule,  resulting  in  the  conversion  of  one  or  more  per- 
sons, then  surely  he  who  on  trial  finds  the  revival 
prayer-meetings  thus  sustained  and  profitable,  need 
not  seek  any  other  method  for  their  conduct;  for 
their  utility  is  demonstrated  in  his  case  by  an  expe- 
rience that  must  be  conclusive. 


CHAPTER  V. 
The  Inquiry-Meeting  has  taken  its  Place. 

SO  far  as  is  known  to  me,  the  inquiry -meeting  has 
now  very  generally  taken  the  place  of  what  was 
described  in  the  preceding  chapter  as  the  revival  prayer- 
meeting.  It  seems  to  me  that  each  class  of  meetings  — 
the  inquiry-meeting  and  the  regular  prayer-meeting  — 
is  profitable,  and  has  its  own  sphere,  so  that  neither  one 
should  be  omitted,  nor  both  of  them  merged  into  the 
revival  prayer-meeting.  And,  with  the  object  in  view 
of  presenting  the  inquiry-meeting  as  an  auxiliary  to 
pastoral  and  prayer-meeting  work,  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  introduce  here  the  experience  of  those  who 
have  found  it  an  indispensable  aid  in  this  direction,  and 
sketch  in  outline  several  methods  by  which  inquirj^- 
meetings  have  been  successfully  conducted.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  so-called  evangelists 
of  our  day  invariably  follow  all  their  preaching  services 
with  an  inquiry-meeting,  generally  held  in  an  adjoining 
room,  and  assisted  by  Christian  workers  who  are  skilled 
in  the  use  of  the  Word  of  God. 
59 


6o  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

The  first  method  will  show  how  even  a  pastor,  who  is 
regularly  settled  in  his  charge,  may  avail  himself  of  a 
service  of  this  kind.  Rev.  Henry  C.  Fish,  of  Newark, 
N.  J.,  related  his  experience  in  this  direction,  at  the 
"  ministerial  convention "  held  in  New  York  city  in 
1876,  in  connection  with  the  revival  labors  of  Moody 
and  Sankey. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  he,  "  why  I  have  been  selected 
by  Mr.  Moody  to  open  this  discussion,  except  it  be  from 
the  fact  that  I  have  long  been  connected  with  inquiry- 
meetings,  and  that  of  the  twelve  hundred  conversions 
that  have  taken  place  in  connection  with  my  ministry  of 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  almost  the  whole  of  that  num- 
ber have  come  into  the  light  of  the  Gospel  through  the 
agency  of  such  meetings.  I  feel  that  a  great  part  of 
my  ministry  has  been  wasted  for  lack  of  this  very 
agency ;  and  I  have  now  resolved  that  no  service  shall 
pass,  except  under  very  extraordinary  circumstances, 
which  shall  not  be  followed  by  an  inquiry-meeting. 
Standing  by  the  Sea  of  Galilee  on  one  occasion,  and 
seeing  its  waters  teeming  with  fish,  I  remembered  what 
Christ  said  to  his  disciples  on  that  very  lake  :  '  I  will 
make  you  fishers  of  men ; '  and  coming  back  to  my 
church  I  told  them  the  inquiry-meeting  is  the  best 
place  to  '  catch  souls ; '  and  that  ought  to  be  the 
one   object   of  our  preaching  services.    Since   the  be- 


THE   INQUIRY-MEETING   HAS   TAKEN    ITS   PLACE.      6l 

ginning  of  January  I  have  been  almost  constantly  in 
the  inquiry-rooms  and  have  seen  from  two  to  three 
hundred  persons  —  perhaps  four  or  five  hundred  —  con- 
verted there.  One  great  advantage  gained  by  these 
meetings  is  that  the  pastor  has  an  opportunity  of  be- 
coming personally  acquainted  with  young  converts  and 
inquirers ;  and  it  is  no  small  thing  to  do  that,  because 
we  will  then  be  better  prepared  to  give  the  right  kind 
of  instruction  and  counsel.  As  to  the  methods  to  be 
adopted  for  making  these  meetings  a  part  of  the  ser- 
vices of  our  churches,  I  have  adopted  the  plan  of 
making  the  evening  service,  short,  bringing  it  to  a 
close  by  half-past  eight.  I  refer  to  the  evening  service, 
because  that  is  the  time  when  the  sermons  are  espec- 
ially with  a  view  to  reaching  the  unconverted.  As 
soon  as  the  seiTnon  is  concluded,  I  send  half  a  dozen 
persons  down  into  the  church  parlors  to  sing ;  and 
half  a  dozen  more  to  make  themselves  polite,  and  see 
that  strangers  are  given  an  invitation  to  come  in.  It 
is  most  important  that  stiffness  and  formality  should 
be  abolished,  and  that  all  should  get  the  idea  that 
the  inquiry-room  is  a  place  where  the  utmost  friendli- 
ness and  home-feeling  is  cultivated. ,  In  ten  minutes 
after  the  meeting  is  bfegun  we  usually  settle  down  to 
work,  those  who  are  unable  to  do  anything  else  help- 
ing in  the   singing.     About   ten  or  twenty  persons  sit 


62  HOW  TO  CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

down  to  converse  with  the  inquirers,  and  in  this  way 
five  or  six  hundred  souls  have  been  brought  to  accept 
Christ.  It  is  necessary,  moreover,  that  the  preaching 
should  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  awaken  inquiry 
in  order  that  these  meetings  should  be  successful. 
Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot,  but  take  care  that  the 
iron  shall  become  hot  by  striking.  Make  your  sermons 
full  of  Christ  and  his  love,  and  of  the  great  truths 
of  the  Gospel,  and  then  you  will  always  have  inquirers 
seeking  the  way  of  salvation." 

But  there  may  be  those  who  feel  that  they  lack 
some  of  the  peculiar  qualifications  that  would  fit 
them  to  enter  into  such  a  work,  or  there  may  be  a 
prejudice  in  the  church  against  the  inquiry-meeting 
as  a  conclusion  to  the  preaching  service  on  Sunday 
evening,  as  to  make  the  attempt  injudicious  ;  for  the 
benefit  of  such  we  now  present  a  second  method  : 

Rev.  D.  Robert  Boyd  was  in  the  habit  of  holding 
his  inquiry-meeting  on  every  Monday  evening  as  a 
private  and  friendly  religious  conversation,  either  at 
his  own  house  or  at  the  church. 

"During  the  many  years,"  he  writes  in  the  introduc- 
tion to  a  little  tract  that  records  some  of  the  conver- 
sations at  these  meetings,  "  during  the  many  years 
that  God  permitted  me  to  occupy  the  responsible  and 
delightful   position   of    a  Christian  pastor,  it  was   my 


THE  INQUIRY-MEETING   HAS  TAKEN   ITS   PLACE.      63 

habit  to  have  a  meeting  for  inquirers  every  Monday 
evening,  both  in  summer  and  winter,  in  times  of  re- 
vival, and  in  times  when  there  was  no  special  religious 
interest.  I  found  that  this  plan  had  many  advantages. 
It  led  me  to  aim  at  the  conversion  of  souls  all  the 
time,  and  to  prepare  my  sermons  with  that  object  in 
view  ;  while  the  impenitent  in  my  congregation  were 
led  to  feel  that  I  was  praying  and  looking  for  their 
conversion,  that  they  ought  to  come  to  Christ  at  once, 
and  that  they  need  not  wait  for  a  series  of  special 
services,  nor  till  large  numbers  were  joining  the  church, 
to  secure  the  salvation  of  their  souls.  Accordingly, 
the  notice  for  this  meeting  was  given  out  regularly 
from  the  pulpit  the  same  as  that  -of  the  weekly  prayer- 
meeting.  I  was  at  pains  to  explain  that  the  meeting 
was  not  to  be  confined  to  souls  in  an  anxious  state 
about  their  personal  salvation,  bui  was  open  to  Chris- 
tians who  were  in  any  perplexity  about  religious  sub- 
jects, or  anything  that  was  disturbing  their  peace  of 
mind,  or  hindering  their  growth  in  grace.  Even  per- 
sons troubled  with  sceptical  doubts  were  urged  to 
come  and  have  a  candid  talk  with  me.  The  result 
was,  I  was  seldom  without  inquirers,  and  the  conver- 
sations on  these  occasions  greatly  helped  me  in  prep- 
arations   for    the    pulpit.     They  gave    me    something 


o4  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

to  aim  at,  of  a  definite  character,  and  made  my 
sermons  more  practical  than  they  might  otherwise 
have  been." 

"  When  Rev.  George  Mueller  was  in  Chicago  last 
year,"  writes  Dr.  Gray,  in  The  Interior,  "  he  stated  in 
an  address  to  the  ministers  of  the  city,  '  that  the 
eminent  Robert  Hall,  during  his  ministry  of  eight 
years  in  Bristol,  had  not  been  instrumental  in  adding 
a  single  new  convert  to  his  church.  This  information 
he  had  from  a  very  intelligent  Christian  lady,  a  great 
admirer  of  Mr.  Hall,  and  a  zealous  member  of  his 
church,  who  greatly  deplored  the  fact  of  this  apparent 
want  of  success.  And  yet  Robert  Hall  was  himself 
a  noble  Christian,  a  faithful  preacher  of  the  Gospel, 
and  the  prince  of  pulpit  orators  of  his  time.  Now 
what  should  we  infer  from  a  fact  like  this  ?  Certainly 
we  must  not  infer  that  Mr.  Plall  did  not  preach  the 
tiiith.  His  life  and  whole  published  works  would  con- 
tradict any  such  conclusion.  And  most  assuredly  it 
would  be  a  most  superficial  judgment  to  say  that 
Mr.  Hall  did  no  good  at  Bristol  because  his  preaching 
did  not  result  in  the  actual  conversion  of  souls.  One 
plants  and  another  waters ;  one  sows  and  another 
reaps ;  God  alone  must  give  the  increase.  God  some- 
times withholds  that   increase  through  long  years   of 


THE  INQUIRY-MEETING   HAS    TAKEN   ITS   PLACE,      65 

patient,  faithful  toil.  As  for  Robert  Hall,  he  may 
have  overshot  the  mark,  and  probably  did,  in  his 
grand  style  of  sermonizing.  But  we  know  that  his 
masterly  argumentation  and  splendid  gifts  of  eloquence 
were  not  lost  upon  the  church  at  large  in  the  influ- 
ence he  exerted  upon  the  leading  minds  of  his  gen- 
eration, however  they  may  seem  to  have  been  lost 
upon  the  sinners  at  Bristol.  By  his  published  ser- 
mons he  still  lives  and  preaches  in  many  lands.  In 
judging  of  the  results,  immediate  or  final,  of  any  true 
preacher's  work,  we  need  always  to  bear  in  mind  the 
caution  given  by  the  Master  himself,  '  Judge  not  ac- 
cording to  the  appearance ;  judge  righteous  judg- 
ment.' " 

And  yet  it  may  be  that  ministers  do  not  enough 
look  and  pray  for  immediate  conviction  and  conver- 
sion to  follow  the  preaching  of  their  sermons.  Thus 
Major  Whittle  told  us  in  a  series  of  meetings  held 
here,  that  a  Methodist  minister  in  Cincinnati  after 
preaching  a  Gospel  sermon,  was  much  surprised  to 
find  a  man  come  forward  and  kneel  before  the  pulpit. 

"  I  thought,"  said  the  minister,  "that  he  was  drunk, 
and  that  I  should  have  to  get  a  police  officer  in 
order  to  avoid  a  disturbance.  But  instead  of  being 
drunk,    the   man   was   under    conviction   of    sin,    and 


66  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

came  forward  as  an  inquirer.  And  so  I  had  been 
preacliing  Gospel  truth,  but  without  any  expectation 
of  immediate  results.     O  how  I  was  rebuked  !  " 

And  thus,  whilst  undoubtedly  there  are  different 
lines  of  success  in  doing  pastoral  work,  it  may  be  true 
that  we  fail  altogether  to  draw  in  the  net  as  fishers 
of  men.  It  may  be  that  by  means  of  an  inquiry- 
meeting  held  either  on  Sabbath  evening  after  the 
preaching  services,  or  as  a  private  meeting  on  some 
other  evening  of  the  week,  the  pastor  shall  so  enlarge 
the  work  of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  sphere  of  the  prayer- 
meeting,  as  to  make  his  ministry  fruitful  both  in  edi- 
fying the  church,  and  in  enlarging  its  membership  by 
actual  conversions.  Let  each,  then,  that  is  called  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry  earnestly  and  prayerfully  seek 
out  such  methods  of  work  as  he  can,  with  the  blessing 
of  God,  most  successfully  prosecute. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Moody's  Scriptuke  Counsels  for  Inquirers. 

Addressed  to  Christian  Workers. 

I  HAVE  chosen  as  my  subject  this  morning,  "  How 
to  hold  an  inquiry-meeting ;  or,  wliat  are  the  best 
adapted  texts  of  Scripture  to  be  dwelt  upon  at  these 
meetings  ? "  Of  course  I  am  not  going  to  quote  all 
the  texts  that  could  be  used,  and  to  good  advantage  ;  I 
am  just  going  to  bring  to  mind  some  of  the  best  ones. 
And  what  I  want  first  to  call  your  attention  to,  if  you 
are  going  to  be  successful  in  winning  souls  to  Christ, 
is  the  need  for  discrimination  in  finding  out  people's 
differences.  People  are  not  the  same  in  their  wants, 
spiritual,  more  than  temporal.  What  is  good  for  one, 
is  rank  poison  for  another.  You  can't  treat  all  alike. 
I've  a  friend  that  when  he  is  sick  always  drinks  a  lot 
of  hot  water,  and  goes  to  bed.  Another  says  to  me, 
just  take  this  dose  and  you  will  get  well.  It  don't 
make  any  difference  what's  the  matter  with  you,  this 
friend  has  one  single  remedy.  So  many  have  just  one 
verse  of  Scripture.  He's  always  quoting  it.  It  fits 
his  case,  and  he  thinks   it  does  everybody   else's.     A 


68  HOW  TO   CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

man  I  know  up  in  Wisconsin  was  converted  under  a 
railway  bridge,  and  to  this  day  lie  keeps  urging  people 
to  go  right  down  under  that  bridge,  if  they  want  to  get 
converted  sure.  But  God  never  repeats  Himself.  No 
two  thoughts  are  just  alike,  no  two  needs  are  just  alike, 
no  two  sinners  are  going  to  come  to  Christ  in  the  same 
precise  way.  Instead  of  looking  for  others'  experiences, 
look  for  one  for  yourself.  So  when  talking  to  persons 
in  the  inquiry-room,  you  must  find  out  just  these  differ- 
ences. Now  I  am  going  to  divide  inquirers  into  classes, 
or  divisions,  this  morning,  and  point  out  a  few  passages 
suitable  for  each. 

The  first  class,  I  think,  in  point  of  numbers,  is  that 
of  the  doubters  —  those  who  are  always  in  Doubting 
Castle.  And  these,  generally,  are  among  professing 
Christians.  Oh,  I  think  we  shall  make  a  different  start 
with  these,  when  we  get  to  Boston,  from  what  we  did 
here.  I'm  convinced  we  made  a  mistake  here  in  not 
opening  the  inquiry-rooms  for  professing  Christians, 
first.  For  twenty  or  thirty  years  they  have  been  living 
on,  making  empty  professions.  Now,  they  just  want 
to  get  off  their  crutches,  and  get  to  walking  and  run- 
ning for  Christ.  I  don't  believe  they  can  accomplish 
much ;  I  know  they  can't,  if  they  continue  in  this  half- 
dead  state.  If  Christians  haven't  assurance,  they  are 
just   stumbling  blocks  — they  are   in    the   way   of  the 


MOODY'S   SCRIPTURE  COUNSELS   FOR   INQUIRERS.      6g 

work.  How  many  hurts  these  professing  Christians 
give,  who  show  no  sign  of  their  faith !  Tliey  have  no 
joy  in  serving  the  Lord,  and  their  children  with  reason, 
say,  "  I  don't  want  that  kind  of  a  reUgion."  And  here 
I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  a  proper  remedy  for 
this  class,  to  be  found  in  the  Book  of  John.  That 
whole  book  was  written  for  this  one  thing,  to  help  peo- 
ple out  of  Doubting  Castle,  and  teach  them  that  they 
may  know  they  are  saved.  Only  Friday  last,  I  met  a 
woman,  a  prominent  member  of  a  prominent  church, 
who  said  it  was  presumption  to  say  with  certainty  that 
we  are  saved.  I  said  it  was  presumption  to  say  that  we 
are  not  saved,  when  we  have  the  very  word  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  for  it.  Oh,  if  you  will  just  read  those 
precious  words:  "He  that  heareth  my  words  and  be- 
lieveth  on  Him  that  sent  me  hath  everlasting  life,  and 
shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is  passed  from 
death  unto  life  ;  "  and  then  turn  to  those  other  divine 
words  :  "  These  things  have  I  written  unto  you  that 
believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God,  that  ye  may 
know  that  ye  have  eternal  life,  and  that  ye  may  believe 
on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God  :  "  if  you  will  just  read 
these  sure  words  of  God,  you  will  not  talk  about  having 
no  assurance  as  to  your  salvation.  Just  believe  in  the 
words  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  you  know  right  now  that 
you  are  saved.     You  know  right  now,  I  say,  and  don't 


70  HOW   TO    CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

have  to  put  it  off  till  you  are  going  to  die.  Therefore 
I  would  talk  to  these  doubting  citizens  about  the  Epistle 
of  John.  I  would  say  to  you,  persuade  them  to  take 
these  words  of  Jesus  :  "  They  have  passed  from  death 
to  life,"  Oh,  yes,  it  is  the  privilege  of  every  child  of 
God,  to  know  that  he  is  saved. 

The  next  class  are  the  backsliding.  They  do  not 
want  so  much  assurance,  as  reviving,  I  know  a  lady 
who  has  a  homoeopathic  doctor's  book,  and  whenever 
she  is  at  all  out  of  sorts  she  goes  right  to  it.  In  spirit- 
ual things  there  is  a  good  remedy  for  all  sorts,  and  for 
the  backsliders  as  well.  Though  they  have  left  God, 
He  makes  a  way  for  them  to  return.  I  have  just  turned 
down  the  leaves  of  my  Bible  at  the  second  and  third 
chapters  of  Jeremiah.  I  don't  think  any  one  can  feel 
this  way  with  that  Bible  in  hand.  "Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  what  iniquity  have  your  fathers  found  in  me,  that 
they  are  gone  far  from  me,  and  have  walked  after  vanity 
and  are  become  vain  ?  "  Now,  what  did  Christ  ever  do 
against  you  ?  Did  He  ever  lie  to  you  ?  Did  He  ever 
abuse  you  ?  Did  He  ever  deceive  you  ?  Only  one 
man  ever  said  that,  and  he  was  out  of  his  head,  and 
any  one  would  know  he  was.  No  man  can  accuse 
Christ  of  any  bias  or  offence.  "  What  iniquity  have 
you.  found  in  me  ?  "  None  at  all.  The  trouble  has 
been  with  ourselves.     It  was  He  that  brought  the  early 


MOODY'S   SCRIPTURE   COUNSELS   FOR  INQUIRERS.      71 

church  through  the  wilderness,  through  all  the  dangers 
of  the  way,  and  into  the  promised  land.  It  is  He  that 
gives  you  power  and  lifts  you  up.  Oh  say,  then,  what 
evil  or  iniquity  have  you  found  in  Him }  The  trouble  is 
with  you,  O  backsliders,  who  "  have  forsaken  the  foun- 
tains of  living  water."  The  nineteenth  verse  says : 
"Thine  own  wickedness  shall  convict  thee,  and  thy 
backslidings  shall  reprove  thee  ;  know  therefore,  and 
see  that  it  is  an  evil  thing  and  bitter  that  thou  hast  for- 
saken the  Lord  thy  God,  and  that  my  fear  is  not  in 
thee,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts."  Enforce  the  miseries 
of  this  text,  and  the  use,  the  exhortation  of  the  third 
chapter,  twenty-second  verse  :  "  Return,  ye  backsliding 
children,  and  I  will  heal  your  backslidings.  Behold  we 
come  unto  thee ;  for  thou  .art  the  Lord  our  God."  And 
then,  fourteenth  verse :  "  Only  acknowledge  thine  ini- 
quity, that  thou  hast  transgressed  against  the  Lord  thy 
God."  I  remember  repeating  these  promises  to  a 
backslider,  and  he  couldn't  believe  them  at  first  for  joy. 
How  tender  these  words  of  Scripture  to  the  backslider. 
Bring  these  words  right  to  bear  on  them,  and  tell  how 
God  pleads  with  them.  Read  to  them  the  opening 
words  of  Hosea,  fourteenth  chapter  :  "  Return  unto  the 
Lord  thy  God,  for  thou  hast  fallen  by  thine  iniquity  ; 
say  unto  him,  take  away  all  iniquity  and  receive  us 
graciously I  (God)  will  heal  their  backsliding,  I 


72  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

will  love  them  freely  ;  for  mine  anger  is  turned  away." 
Then  bring  up  the  story  of  the  prodigal  for  illustration  ; 
also  the  apostle  Peter,  how  he  was  drawn  to  God  after 
grievously  backsliding,  and  how  he  was  even  admitted 
to  the  blessings  of  Pentecost.  Then  say,  "  You,  too, 
can  be  restored  if  you  only  believe,  and  God  will  yet 
make  you  a  blessing  to  believers." 

The  third  class  are  those  who  are  not  stricken  by 
their  sins ;  who  have  no  deep  conviction  of  guilt.  Just 
bring  the  law  of  God  to  bear  on  these,  and  show  them 
themselves  in  their  true  light.  Repeat  Romans,  third 
chapter,  tenth  verse  :  "  There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not 
one ; "  also  the  succeeding  verses  ;  and  then  repeat 
from  Isaiah  :  "  The  whole  head  is  sick,  and  the  whole 
heart  faint ;  from  the  sole  of  the  foot  even  unto  the 
head  there  is  no  soundness,  but  wounds  and  bruises 
and  putrefying  sores."  And  then  bring  in  that  verse, 
"  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desper- 
ately wicked."  Don't  try  to  heal  the  wound  before  the, 
hurt  is  felt.  You  may,  perhaps,  get  but  few  satisfactory 
inquirers  in  this  way,  but  what  you  do  get  are  worth 
something.  If  a  man  don't  see  his  guilt,  he  won't  be  a 
valuable  or  true  convert.  Read  him  the  first  chapter 
of  First  John,  tenth  verse  :  "  If  we  say  that  we  have 
not  sinned,  we  make  him  a  liar,  and  his  word  is  not  in 


MOODY'S   SCRIPTURE   COUNSELS    FOR   INQUIRERS.       73 

US,"  and  hold  him  right  to  it.  Don't  attempt  to  give 
the  consolations  of  the  Gospel  until  your  converts  see 
they  have  sinned  —  see  it  and  feel  it.  I  met  a  man 
who  expressed  doubts  about  his  being  much  of  a 
sinner. 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  let's  find  out  if  you  have  sinned. 
Do  you  swear  ?  " 

"Well,  as  a  general  rule,  I  only  swear  when  I  get 
mad." 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  but  what  does  the  Lord  say  about  not 
holding  a  man  guiltless  that  swears  ?  Believe  me.  He 
will  hold  you  responsible  for  that ;  bear  that  in  mind  ; 
you  must  be  able  to  hold  your  temper,  but  if  not,  be- 
ware to  take  the  name  of  God  in  vain.  Are  you  not 
now  a  sinner  ?  " 

And  the  man  was  convinced. 

Sometimes,  too,  I  have  found  a  merchant  this  way ; 
and  yet  one  openly  confesses  to  me  that  he  did  cheat 
sometimes. 

"  You  lie,  then,  don't  you  ?  "  said  I.  He  didn't  want 
to  put  it  quite  so  plainly,  but  pretty  soon  saw  it  in  my 
light.  Oh,  yes ;  enforce  this  truth  kindly  but  firmly, 
that  our  natural  hearts  are  as  black  and  deceitful  as 
hell.  Man  must  say  from  his  heart,  "  I  have  sinned 
and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God." 


74  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

The  fourth  class  are  those  completely  broken  down 
by  a  sense  of  sin,  those  who  have  too  much  conviction 
of  sin,  distinguished  from  the  preceding  inquirers,  who 
haven't  enough.  One  of  these  tells  you  that  God  can't 
save  such  a  sinner  as  he.  Then  you  have  to  prove  his 
mistake,  and  show  that  God  can  save  to  the  uttermost. 
Take  the  first  chapter  of  Isaiah,  eighteenth  verse  : 
"  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the 
Lord  ;  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be 
white  as  snow  ;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they 
shall  be  as  wool."  Just  turn  your  Bible  right  over  to 
that  passage,  and  many  such  other  passages  in  Isaiah  : 
they  will  all  help  in  the  inquiry  room.  The  forty-third 
chapter,  twenty-fifth  verse  says  :  "  I,  even  I,  am  he 
that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions  for  mine  own  sake, 
and  will  not  remember  thy  sins."  And  the  twenty- 
second  verse  of  the  next  chapter  is  stronger :  "  I 
have  blotted  out,  as  a  thick  cloud,  thy  sins  ;  return 
unto  me,  for  I  have  redeemed  thee."  Make  the 
anxious  soul  believe  that  God  has  blotted  out 
his  sins  as  a  thick  cloud  ;  make  him  see  the  dense 
cloud  vanishing,  as  it  were,  from  the  face  of  the  sun, 
vanishing  forever ;  that  cloud  can  never  come  up  again  ; 
others  may,  but  that  old  cloud  of  the  past  guilt  is  dis- 
solved forever;  the  Lord  Himself  has  blotted  it  out. 
Use  the  two  verses,  John    i:  ii,  12:  "He   came  unto 


MOODY  S   SCRIPTURE  COUNSELS   FOR   INQUIRERS.      75 

his  own,  and  his  own  received  him  not.  But  as 
many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  be- 
come the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  beUeve  on  his 
name." 

The  idea  is,  that  those  fearing  ones  cannot  serve 
God  until  they  receive  Christ  fully  as  their  salvation ; 
it  won't  do  for  them  to  merely  take  up  with  some  min- 
ister, or  church,  or  creed.  The  minister  dies  or  moves 
away ;  the  only  lasting  resource  is  in  Christ,  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  where  He  will  never  forsake  His 
own.  Yes,  press  Jesus  upon  these  anxious  souls.  Tell 
them  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  son" — ''so  loved  the  world  " — that  includes 
them  ;  if  they  inhabited  some  other  land  they  might 
tremble,  but  they  are  on  this  earth,  for  all  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  which  Christ  died,  the  just  for  the  unjust. 
Use  also  the  text :  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he 
that  heareth  my  words,  and  believeth  on  him  that  sent 
me,  shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  has  passed 
from  death  unto  life." 

Now,  some  people  do  not  just  understand  believing 
in  Christ.  They  believe  Christ  came  as  an  historical 
being,  as  Moses  and  Elijah  came.  They  believe  the 
Cunard  line  of  steamers  will  take  them  to  Liverpool  in 
twelve  or  fourteen  days.  But  these  beliefs  don't  make 
men  good ;  they  are  head  beliefs  only.     They  are  not 


76  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

what  your  inquirers  want.  What  you  and  they  want  is 
heart  belief,  or,  in  other  words,  to  just  trust  Christ  to 
save  you.  Sometimes  people  can't  digest  the  word 
"  belief ;  "  then  let  them  take  this  sweet  word  "  trust." 
From  Isaiah  xxvi :  3,  4,  read  to  them  :  "  Thou  wilt  keep 
him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee  ; 
because  he  trusteth  in  thee.  Trust  ye  in  the  Lord 
forever;  for  in  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  everlasting 
strength." 

By  trusting  in  Him,  you  see  we  have  everlasting 
strength.  You  must  get  them  to  trust  and  believe 
entirely  in  Christ,  and  not  try  to  save  themselves. 
They  cannot  save  themselves  by  their  feelings  ;  assure 
them  of  that.  There  is  not  a  word  of  warrant  for 
such  a  thought  from  the  first  of  Genesis  to  the  last  of 
Revelation.  Oh,  it  is  much  better  to  trust  in  the 
precious,  changeless  word  of  God,  than  in  our  own 
changing  feelings ;  thank  God,  that  this  is  also  our 
duty! 

Then  you  hear  some  inquirers  say,  "  I  haven't  got 
strength  sufficient."  But  Christ  died  to  be  their 
strength.  A  loving  hand  will  support  them  in  the 
Christian  journey,  and  His  strength  will  be  made  per- 
fect in  weakness.  Bid  such  "  be  strong  in  the  Lord, 
and  in  the  power  of  His  might." 


MOODY  S   SCRIPTURE  COUNSELS   FOR  INQUIRERS.      'JJ 

And  then  another  class  that  cannot  be  saved  in  this 
way,  they  think,  because  doubting  instantaneous  con- 
version. Read  to  such  from  Romans,  the  sixth  chap- 
ter, twenty-third  verse :  "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death,  but 
the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life."  Salvation  is  a  gift, 
and  so  must  have  a  definite  point  in  time.  I  say,  "  Will 
you  take  this  Bible  ?  "  You  must  first  make  up  your 
mind  to  take  it,  and  then  reach  out  and  —  the  work  of 
an  instant  —  grasp  the  gift.  Just  so  with  God's  best 
gift,  salvation ;  to  take  it  is  the  work  of  an  instant,  and 
your  inquirer  may  have  it  for  the  asking.  "  Let  him 
that  heareth  say  come  ; "  "  Whosoever  will,  let  him 
come  and  drink  of  the  water  of  life  freely."  With  the 
gift,  God  gives  the  power  to  take  it.  When  we  get  be- 
fore the  tribunal  of  the  great  white  throne,  we  will  have 
to  answer  for  it,  if  we  refuse  to  take  it.  This  is  the 
richest  jewel  that  heaven  has ;  God  gives  up  His  Son 
for  our  Saviour. 

Another  class  say  to  you  and  me  when,  in  the  in- 
quiry-room, we  press  them  to  openly  confess  Christ, 
"  We're  afraid  we  won't  hold  out."  Say  to  these  re- 
peatedly that  blessed  text :  "  Now  unto  him  that  is 
able  to  keep  you  from  falling."  Think,  and  tell  them 
to  think  of  the  thousands  who  never  fall.  The  idea 
that  it  is  necessary  to  fall  into  sin  is  wrong.    Then  take 


78  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS, 

those  passages :  "  I,  the  Lord  thy  God,  will  hold  thy 
right  hand  " ;  "  Fear  not,  I  will  help  thee,"  and  "  I 
am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I 
have  committed  unto  him  against  that  day,"  Let  a 
man  just  trust  the  Lord  to  keep  him  from  falling,  and 
He  will  do   it. 

Suppose  I  have  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  with  me  ; 
it's  all  I  have  in  the  world ;  thieves  are  after  it,  and 
I'm  quaking  every  minute  lest  they  get  it,  I  find  my 
banker  here,  and  I  say,  "  Here,  take  it  quick ;  I  can't 
keep  my  money  but  by  your  help  ;  I  wish  you  would 
hurry  and  put  it  in  the  vault ;  when  it  is  deposited 
there,  and  not  before,  I  shall  be  safe." 

Is  not  this  the  way  to  give  our  all  into  God's  keep- 
ing ,''  Is  not  this  the  way  to  live  secure  from  temptation 
and  backsliding  ?  In  God's  keeping  we  are  safe, 
"  Our  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God."  Oh,  let  us  each 
make  this  deposit  of  our  personal  trust  this  morning  ; 
trust  him  entirely,  and  then  we  can  the  better  lead 
inquirers  in  the  same  way,  Jesus  can  hold  us  close 
to  Himself.  "  Nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,"  If  you  just 
take  up  the  words  of  Christ  in  the  book  of  Romans, 
love  and  peace  and  joy  flow  out.  One  verse  tells  of 
love,  and  the  next  of  joy  j  the  next  and  next,  of  the 


MOODY'S   SCRIPTURE  COUNSELS   FOR  INQUIRERS.      79 

peace  that  comes  from  believing.  Romans,  fourth 
chapter  and  twenty-eighth  verse,  and  all  those  verses 
a'ong  there  might  be  read.  The  result  of  believing  is 
joy,  rest,  and  peace.  John  xv :  ii,  that  is  joy.  Matt. 
xi :  28,  that  is  rest.  John  xiv :  27,  that  is  peace. 
Never,  however,  tell  a  man  he  is  converted.  Never  tell 
him  he  is  saved.  Let  him  find  that  out  from  heaven. 
You  can't  afford  to  deceive  one  about  this  great  ques- 
tion. But  you  can  help  his  faith  and  trust,  and  lead 
him  right. 

I  find  that  those  in  the  inquiry-room  do  best  who  do 
not  run  about  from  one  to  another,  offering  words  of 
encouragement  everywhere.  They  would  better  go  to 
but  one  or  two  of  an  afternoon  or  evening.  We  are 
building  for  eternity  and  can  take  time.  The  work 
will  not  then  be  superficial.  If  it  is  so,  it  will  not  be 
the  fault  of  the  workers  or  preachers.  And  then,  to  do 
all  our  duty,  we  must  talk  more  of  restitution.  I  don't 
think  we  preach  enough  the  need  of  our  making  good 
to  one  another  injuries  to  person,  property,  or  feeling. 
If  you  have  done  one  a  detriment,  you  must  go  and 
pay  it  back,  or  make  it  up,  if  it  is  a  tangible  loss,  and 
if  it  is  a  wound  to  the  feelings,  fully  apologize.  It  is  a 
good  deal  better  to  go  up  and  do  the  fair  thing,  what- 
ever the  result.  It  may  be  that  some  will  refuse  such 
amends,  but  it  is  our  duty  to  offer  them.     But  in  the 


8o  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS 

ena  a  complete  reconciliation  trom  sucn  a  course  is 
almost  sure  to  result.  The  antij^athy  supposed  to  exist 
on  the  other  side  is  often  only  imagined.  You  need 
not  expect  that  God  is  going  to  forgive  you  if  you  don't 
forgive  others.  We  say  daily,  "  Forgive  us  our  debts 
as  we  forgive  our  debtors,"  and  we  must  show  that  we 
understand  this  conditional  request.  What  if  God 
should  take  us  at  our  word,  and  just  forgive  us  to  the 
extent  to  which  our  small  grievances  are  forgiven  ! 
And  this  He  surely  will  do  ;  so  let  us  be  wise. 

A  young  lady  in  Michigan,  at  a  recent  revival  service, 
was  troubled  greatly,  and  to  kind  inquiries  at  last  con- 
fessed that  her  unwillingness  to  confess  Christ  resulted 
from  a  school-room  quarrel  which  was  still  unsettled. 
She  felt  she  couldn't  forgive  her  enemy,  but  at  last 
told  her  trouble  and  asked  for  advice.  "'  Must  I 
forgive  my  mate  ? "  "  Certainly,  if  you  want  God's 
forgiveness,"  was  the  answer  of  the  minister,  and 
immediately  she  ran  with  all  her  might  to  her  old 
friend,  and  instead  of  meeting  a  cold  reception  they 
were  soon  crying  on  each  others  necks. 

And  so  it  always  should  be,  and  most  always  there 
will  be,  the  same  prompt  half-way  meeting  between 
those  aggrieved.  My  wife  was  laboring  in  the  inquiry- 
room  the  other  evening  with  a  lady  who  was  in  just 


MOODY'S  SCRIPTURE   COUNSELS   FOR    INQUIRERS.      8l 

this  State  of  mind,  and  very  soon  Reparation  and  com- 
plete reconciliation  were  effected,  and  two  old  friends 
vplked  oif  arm  in  arm,  happier  than  ever  before  this 
little  misunderstanding.  And  one  of  those  ladies  felt 
so  strong  in  her  new-found  charity  for  all,  that  she 
won  over  her  husband,  and  last  Sunday  he  openly  in 
the  Tabernacle  confessed  Christ,  remembering  that 
"with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation," 
Many  more  texts,  did  time  allow,  might  be  cited,  all 
applicable  to  anxious  inquirers. 

But  one  word  more.  Do  not  let  a  man  go  out  of 
the  inquiry-room  without  praying  with  him.  Fear  not, 
but  do  the  work  boldly.  There  was  a  man  the  other 
day  who  said,  "  I  don't  believe  there's  any  God."  The 
resolute  Christian  worker,  to  whom  he  spoke,  answered 
impetuously,  "I  will  just  ask  God  to  shake  you  —  to 
just  shake  this  demon  out  of  you."  And  down  he 
fell  on  his  knees  by  the  poor  infidel  and  prayed  with 
loud  earnestness.  The  man  began  to  shake  from 
head  to  foot.  It  was  God  shaking  him.  And  by  just 
these  means,  more  than  any  others,  skeptics  and  infi- 
dels will  know  there  is  a  God.  Let  me  say  a  word 
to  those  ministers  that  have  not,  and  do  not  go  into 
the  inquiry  room.  Many  in  your  flocks,  never  seeing 
you   there,  think  you   are   not   in   sympathy  with  this 


82  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

work,  and  they  be^n  to  think  you  don't  care  anything 
about  their  salvation.  They  feel  in  bondage,  and  you 
do  not  go  to  help  them.  Well,  there  was  a  minister 
in  a  city  we  visited,  who  did  not  "  condescend  "  to 
be  seen  in  our  humble  Tabernacle.  He  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  us.  One  day  he  was  at  a  dinner- 
party where  tliey  were  discussing  our  work.  Said  he  : 
"That  sort  of  a  thing  is  good  enough  for  those 
people,  but  it  would  never  do  for  me." 

"  Well,"  said  another  clerg)Tnan  of  the  same  belief, 
"fifty-seven  of  your  congregation  stood  up  in  the 
Tabernacle  for  prayers  to-day,  and  all  of  them  after- 
ward went  into  the  inquiry-room." 

The  cultured  and  popular  pastor  of  those  Christians 
could  not  kill  the  humane  promptings  to  be  charitable 
to  all  professing  the  name  of  Christ,  and  to  worship 
along  with  such,  even  in  perhaps  irregular  modes. 
But  with  the  cordial  co-operation  of  every  pastor  in 
the  Tabernacle  and  inquiry-room,  what  limit  would 
there  be  to  the  Christian  inroads  on  the  citadels  of 
sin?  Oh,  make  it  a  duty,  all  of  you,  to  talk  to  some 
soul  at  every  meeting,  in  these  blessed  inquiry-rooms. 
Don't  take  those  in  a  position  in  life  above  your 
own,  but  take  those  on  the  same  footing.  Bend  all 
your   endeavors   to  answer  for  poor,  struggling  souls 


MOODY'S  SCRIPTURE  COUNSELS   FOR  INQUIRERS.      83 

that  question  of  all  importance  to  them,  "  What  must 
I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  Yes,  this  is  the  question.  What 
else,  but  to  answer  it,  brought  out  these  thousands  at 
this  early  hour  ?  My  friends,  God  is  with  you  in  this 
work.  Go  on  more  diligently  and  implicitly,  trust- 
ing in  him;  go  on  to  a  more  and  more  glorious 
harvest. 


/ 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Value  of  Topics. 

A  FEW  reasons  may  be  given  to  show  the  value 
of  topics  in  keeping  up  an  interest  in  prayer- 
meetings.  And  the  advantages,  it  seems  to  me,  so 
largely  overbalance  the  disadvantages  as  to  very  gen- 
erally recommend  their  use. 

Where  the  subjects  are  selected  for  a  whole  year 
in  advance,  or  for  parts  of  a  year,  the  pastor  will 
take  in  a  wider  range  of  Christ-life,  doctrine  and  ex- 
perience, than  if  waiting  to  the  day  of  the  meeting, 
and  then  making,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  a  hasty 
selection. 

/  But  the  great  advantage  is,  that  it  enables  the  peo- 
ple to  prepare  their  minds  with  reference  to  a  given 
subject.  Where  no  topic  has  been  announced,  the 
people  have  had  no  opportunity  to  consider  it,  and 
look  up  passages  of  Scripture  to  illustrate  its  meaning 
and  enforce  its  teaching.  Does  it  not  seem  a  little 
unfair,  or  ironical,  after  a  leader  has  about  exhausted 
the  subject  in  a  long  address,  to  say,  "Now,  breth- 
84 


s 


THE   VALUE  OF  TOPICS.  85 

ren,  the  meeting  is  open.  Do  not  let  precious  time 
slip  by  in  waiting  for  each  other."  If  the  people  have 
equal  opportunities  for  preparation  with  the  leader, 
there  is  less  liability  that  the  prayer-meeting  shall 
become  a  one-man  meeting.  Thus  at  a  certain  prayer- 
meeting,  as  I  have  been  informed,  the  minister  de- 
livered a  long  lecture  on  hell,  which  consumed  nearly 
the  whole  time.  If  the  leader  does  not  claim  that  he 
chooses  his  subject  on  the  instant  by  inspiration,  and 
talks  by  inspiration,  then  the  subject  of  the  evening 
admits  of  choice  before  the  opening ;  and  if  it  admits 
of  previous  choice,  there  is  no  good  reason  why  the 
knowledge  of  it  shall  be  withheld  from  the  people, 
and  they  not  permitted  to  benefit  themselves  by  it. 
If  a  meeting  is  not  profitable  to  which  the  leader 
comes  without  any  preparation,  is  it  not  an  advantage 
to  the  meeting,  to  have  all,  both  pastor  and  people, 
come  to  it  with  due  preparation  and  prayer?  If  it 
be  said,  "We  cannot  tell  so  long  in  advance  what 
special  spiritual  needs  may  arise  each  week  to  de- 
mand attention,"  the  answer  is,  whenever  such  special 
emergencies  arise  as  do  not  seem  to  have  been  pro- 
vided for  in  a  comprehensive  plan  of  selection  from 
Scripture  texts  for  a  given  time,  discard  the  set  topic, 
and  introduce  the  new  one,  with  due  notice  of  the 
change. 


/ 


86  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

The  use  of  topics,  also  will  secure  the  advantages 
of  associated  Bible  study.  The  thought  of  the  church 
will  be  concentrated  upon  the  same  subject  during  a 
given  week,  that  will  secure  unity  on  the  subject,  and 
a  rich  variety  in  its  presentation.  There  is  almost  an 
endless  variety  by  which  to  illustrate  the  subject, 
both  by  anecdote  and  experience,  and  inasmuch  as  no 
two  minds  are  exactly  alike,  each  one  will  come  with 
some  new  thought  and  illustration  that  will  prove 
stimulating  and  interesting.  Suppose  the  subject  to  be, 
"  Christ  the  Light  of  the  World."  One  speaker  may 
be  led  to  present  the  physical  analogies  of  the  sun,  as 
the  source  of  light,  heat  and  chemical  power,  and  then 
pass  from  that  to  consider  the  moral  condition  of  the 
heathen  world  without  the  light  of  the  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness. Another  speaker  may  be  led  to  present 
Christ  as  the  light  of  the  world  that  reveals  the 
Father ;  that  fills  it  with  the  warmth  of  divine  love, 
and  becomes  the  source  of  all  holy  and  heavenly 
activities.  Another  may  present  the  duty  of  preaching 
the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  as  shown  by  those  con- 
trasts of  light  and  darkness.  And  another,  finally, 
may  dwell  upon  those  passages  of  Scripture  which 
present  Christ  as  the  light  of  heaven.  He  is  the 
light  of  the  present  world,  and  He  will  also  be  the 
light  of  the  world  to  come. 


THE  VALUE  OF  TOPICS.  87 

Tn  this  way  the  prayer-meeting  will  become  not 
merely  a  training-school  for  the  gifts  and  graces  of 
the  church,  but  also  a  school  for  the  attractive  pre- 
sentation of  Scripture  truth.  And  by  such  helps  as 
are  generally  derived  from  associated  study,  the  prayer- 
meeting  will  be  kept  from  running  into  "ruts  and  set 
phrases,"  which  must  eventually  become  old  and  tire- 
some. Bishop  Simpson  said  to  a  friend  with  whom 
he  was  walking  home  from  a  religious   service : 

"  That  was  a  beautiful  prayer  we  heard  ?  " 

"Yes,"  replied  the  man,  "  it  was  so;  but  I  have 
heard  it  for  the  last  twenty  years." 

The  minister  is  apt  to  look  at  a  question  from  a 
theoretical  and  philosophical  standpoint;  but  if  the 
people  have  equal  opportunities  for  preparation  and 
are  trained  to  take  a  part,  they  will  counteract  this 
tendency,  and  present  the  practical  bearings  of  a 
subject  as  illustrated  from  the  standpoint  of  daily 
life,  business  cares,  household  duties,  peculiar  tempta- 
tions, vexations   and  cares. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Objections  to  Their  Use. 

WE  see  a  thing  more  clearly  when  we  look  at  it 
from  all  sides.  There  are  some  who  object 
to  the  use  of  topics,  for  one  reason  and  another ;  and 
I  may  say  as  an  introduction  to  a  statement  of  some 
of  these  that  I  have  never  attended  a  prayer-meeting 
of  the  kind  to  be  described.  I  have  never  attended 
one  which  was  not  seriously  conducted  and  solemnly 
participated  in ;  I  have  never  attended  a  prayer- 
meeting  that  degenerated  into  a  debating  society,  or 
into  a  school  for  the  display  of  oratory  ;  but  I  have 
heard  of  prayer-meetings  so  "  spontaneous  and  fresh  " 
that  no  one  has  spoken  a  word  save  the  pastor,  who 
oft  and  again  after  having  had  his  say,  would  dismisj- 
the  people  before  the  hour  was  half  up, 

"  I  rise  to  say,"  writes  the  Rev.  Donald  Fletcher,  ir 
an  article  contributed  to  the  Iitterior,  last  year,  "  tha>' 
you  cannot  have  a  good  prayer-meeting  when  you  an- 
nounce a  topic  ahead.  The  trouble  is  the  men  g&\ 
to  studying  up  speeches,  and  if  there  is  anything 
more  rasping  than  that  I  don't  know  of  it.  You  go  to 
88 


OBJECTIONS  TO  THEIR   USE.  89 

meeting  Wednesday  night  for  'your  spiritual  luncheon 
in  the  middle  of  the  week,  tired,  thirsty,  hungry  for  the 
Bread  and  Water  of  Life.  The  topic  announced,  '  Is 
Christianity  in  danger  ! '  The  leader  shows  that  it  is 
not.  Twenty  minutes  gone.  A  hymn  is  sung  slowly  to 
get  the  full  benefit  of  it ;  then  a  long  pause,  for  the 
leader  has  said  the  meeting  is  open,  and,  like  the 
Clark  street  bridge,  it  stays  open  quite  a  while.  After 
looking  sheepishly  around  at  each  other,  and  moving 
nervously  in  their  seats,  the  people  see  Bro.  A  rise  up 
slowly  stroking  his  beard,  and  that  twinkle  in  the  left 
eye,  raised  a  little  higher  than  the  other,  shows  that  he 
is  prepared  to  make  a  '  few  remarks.'  And  at  it  he 
goes  —  not  even  Spencer  or  dead  Stuart  Mill  left  out. 
Ten,  twelve,  but  the  coughing  and  leaf-turning  fetch 
him  down  on  the  thirteenth  minute.  He  lately  bought 
Joseph  Cook's  Biology.  Then  the  hymn,  '  Hallelujah  ! 
'tis  done.'  Then  a  man  who  once  made  Fourth  of  July 
speeches,  and  prides  himself  in  saying  that  he  is  natu- 
rally of  a  skeptical  turn  of  mind,  proceeds  after  taking 
exception  to  '  Just  one  remark  the  brother  has  made, 
though  he  agrees  substantially  with  him,'  he  keeps 
the  floor  to  ventilate  his  new  cyclopedia,  and  seems  to 
make  the  impression  that  it  is  very  kind  in  him  not  to 
turn  infidel  as  he  closes  with  an  eulogy  on  '  the  great- 
est elevating  and  civilizing  power  that  we  know  of,  my 


90  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

friends,  in  the  annals  of  ancient  or  modern  history.' 
By  this  time  it  is  nine  o'clock,  for  appearance  sake 
though,  the  prayer-meeting  must  have  a  second  prayer 
then  '  Pull  for  the  shore '  is  sung,  then '  Bolt  for  the 
door '  is  done.  Thus  endeth  that  communion  of  saints. 
A  topic  announced  on  Sunday  destroys  spontaneous 
enthusiasm  and  freshness  in  those  that  speak ;  begets 
a  critical  spirit  in  those  that  listen  ;  robs  you  of  a 
prayer  and  conference  meeting  ;  leaves  you  a  very  poor 
lyceum,  and  starves  those  who  want  heart  religion. 
The  noon  prayer-meeting  in  Chicago  is  not  half  as 
good  as  it  was  five  years  ago,  for  no  other  reason,  I  be- 
lieve, than  that  they  carry  out  the  programme  of  sub- 
jects drawn  up  by  the  International  Committee.  Why 
'  Faith  '  and  the  '  Atonement '  are  announced  only  two 
or  three  times  a  year !  And  there  are  from  twenty  to 
fifty  unconverted  strangers  present  every  day,  but  the 
man  who  drew  up  the  subjects  could  not,  like  Shakes- 
peare '  repeat  himself.'  Which  leads  me  to  say  that  I 
never  knew  of  a  good  prayer-meeting  where  there  was 
not  a  reaching  out  after  the  unconverted.  God  will  not 
encourage  selfishness  that  '  wants  a  blessing '  if  it  is 
just  to  '  enjoy  a  good  meeting.'  May  I  suggest  then  to 
pastors  :  Make  your  prayer-meeting  a  feeder  for  your 
next  Sunday  sermon.  You  got  your  subject  Monday 
morning,  of  course.     You  toss  it  up  like  a  ball,  think 


OBJECTIONS  TO   THEIR   USE.  9I 

it  up,  read  it  up  all  the  week,  and  crystalize  it  Friday. 
Your  opening  remarks  on  Wednesday  evening  should 
be  in  the  direction  or  neighborhood  of  your  next  Sun- 
day's subject.  Your  thoughts  are  all  fresh.  You  will 
strike  fire  first  sentence  ;  people  will  spring  to  their  feet 
all  through  the  hour,  especially  if  you  quietly  by  yourself 
request  one  or  two  of  your  people  each  week  to  fill  the 
first  five-second  pause  that  occurs,  which  is  usually  after 
the  meeting  is  thrown  open.  No  two  churches  are  alike 
in  their  states  and  characteristics.  The  Lord  alone 
can  direct  the  pastor  to  the  subject  he  should  have  for 
the  pulpit  and  prayer-meeting.  And  it  is  not  '  give  us 
this 'year  our  yearly  bread.'  We  get  it  as  we  need  it. 
How  well  Mr  Muller,  of  Bristol,  put  it  when  asked  how 
he  got  his  sermons.  '  I  ask  the  Lord  to  direct  me  and 
when  a  subject  comes  to  my  mind  and  my  soul  is 
at  rest  within  me,  I  conclude,  that  is  the  one  the  Lord 
gives  me.'  What  our  prayer-meetings  need  is,  not  uni- 
formity, but  informality,  less  stiffness,  more  homelike- 
ness.  Given  an  impromptu,  fervent,  quick  prayer- 
meeting,  and  you  find  a  good  preacher,  a  happy  pastor 
and  people.  Given  a  cut  and  dried  yawnish  prayer- 
meeting,  and  there  you  find  unrest,  gossip,  barrenness, 
and  from  such,  good  Lord  deliver  us." 

It  seems  to  me  that  a  general  verdict  has  already 
been  prononunced  upon  these  "  spontaneous  "  meetings 


92  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

by  the  church  membership,  as  may  be  inferred  from 
the  fact  that  so  very  few  —  a  number  discouragingly 
small  —  attend  them,  and  that  the  faithful  pastor  has 
to  sustain  nearly  all  the  parts  himself  in  the  meeting. 
The  question,  is  a  fair  one.  Has  Brother  Fletcher 
ever  conducted  a  prayer-meeting  in  a  provincial  town, 
or  in  the  country  regularly  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
if  so  will  he  be  kind  enough  to  give  the  results  of 
such  an  experience  ? 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Objections   Considered. 

AND  now,  having  presented,  as  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  some  objections  to  the  use  of 
topics  in  the  prayer-meeting,  it  may  not  be  out  of 
place  to  introduce  the  reply  which  this  article  called 
out,  and  which  was  published  in  the  same  paper  a 
week  or  two  following.  Both  of  these  articles,  of 
course,  were  written  in  the  utmost  good  humor,  and 
the  spice  and  flavor  with  which  they  abound  only  serve 
to  make  their  reading  more  enjoyable. 

"  As  I  was  walking  home  from  the  office  with  the 
Interior  of  the  5th  inst.,"  writes  the  Rev.  A.  Emery 
Fisher,  of  Mineral  Point,  Wis.,  "  the  first  words  that 
caught  my  eye  were,  *  I  rise  to  say  that  you  cannot 
have  a  good  prayer-meeting  when  you  announce  a 
topic  ahead.' 

"  Now,  is  this  true  ?  Do  the  facts  in  the  case  warrant 
such  a  sweeping,  unqualified  assertion  ?  If  they  do, 
then  how  woefully  I  have  been  deceived  in  many  of 
my  topical  prayer-meetings.  I  recognize  the  objection 
'  studying  up  speeches.'  Practically,  it  does  not  exist. 
93 


94  HOW  TO    CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

There  are  no  speeches  made  in  our  average  prayer- 
meeting.  Ministers  know,  painfully,  how  difficult  it  is 
to  induce  persons  to  take  any  part,  other  than  prayer ; 
and  if  this  desired  end  can  be  secured  by  having  a 
topic  announced,  let  them  be  proclaimed  from  every 
pulpit  of  the  land.  And  if  it  is  desirable  to  have 
words  at  all,  let  them  be  studied  words,  studied  in 
the  proper  sense,  by  meditation  and  by  prayer.  The 
article  in  question  states  further : 

"  'A  topic  announced  on  Sunday,  destroys  sponta- 
neous enthusiasm  and  freshness  in  those  that  speak.' 

"  Now  that  sounds  nicely.  It  is  pretty.  It  is  at- 
tractive. But  it  is  only  a  bubble.  Puncture  it  and  it 
will  collapse.  It  is  nothing  but  wind  enveloped  in 
a  gaudy  covering  of  words,  (i.)  If  it  be  necessary 
for  '  enthusiasm  and  freshness  '  in  the  prayer-meeting 
to  keep  its  members  ignorant  of  the  topic  for  the 
evening,  why  would  it  not  be  well  in  the  pulpit  to 
keep  the  minister  ignorant  of  his  subject  till  it  is 
time  for  him  to  speak  ?  If  it  be  well  on  Wednesday 
evening,  why  would  it  not  be  well  on  Sabbath  morn- 
ing ?  I  acknowledge  that  the  two  cases  are  not  quite 
parallel.  (2.)  If  it  does  not  destroy '  enthusiasm  and 
freshness '  for  the  pastor  to  meditate  upon  a  subject,  and 
*  toss  it  up  like  a  ball '  before  he  sjoeaks  upon  it,  why 
should  it  produce  in  an  elder,  a  deacon,  or  one  of  the 


OBTECTIONS    CONSIDERED.  95 

rank  and  file  barrenness  and  drouth?  (3.)  '  Sponta- 
neous enthusiasm  '  is  not  the  object  for  which  God's 
people  assemble  for  prayer.  It  is  to  commune  with 
our  heavenly  Father;  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  to  eat  of  the  bread  from  our  own  Master's 
table ;  to  be  '  strengthened  with  might,  by  His  spirit 
in  the  inner  man.'  You  may  have  a  meeting  full  of 
*  enthusiasm  and  freshness  '  from  beginning  to  end  and 
yet  go  away  as  sterile  and  and  weak  as  you  came.  I 
do  not  deprecate  these  elements  in  our  meeting,  but 
when  they  are  made  the  chief  good  of  our  coming 
together,  the  husks  are  chosen  instead  of  the  manna, 
the  waters  of  Albana  instead  of  the  Jordan,  the  flourish 
of  trumpets  instead  of  the  '  still  small  voice  singing  in 
silence.' 

"  The  next  paragraph  has  the  right  ring.  His  ad- 
vice to  pastors  is  good.  But  it  tramples  in  the  dust  all 
that  has  gone  before.  The  suggestion  is  for  them 
to  take  the  topic  for  the  next  Sabbath's  discourse, 
which  has  been  selected  on  Monday,  for  the  subject 
of  the  prayer-meeting.  '  Your  thoughts  are  all  fresh. 
You  will  strike  fire  the  first  sentence.'  Do  not  be 
too  sure  of  it.  I  have  seen  some  flint-locks  if  you  got 
fire  from  them  the  third  or  fourth  pull  you  would  do 
pretty  well.  But  look  at  it  in  relation  to  the  foregoing 
part  of  this  article.     If  the  pastor,  by  having  the  topic 


96  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

before  his  mind  from  Monday  till  the  meeting  for 
prayer,  comes  with  freshness  and  vivacity  of  thought, 
why  should  not  others  ?  Why  contemplating  a  topic 
secures  freshness  in  the  pastor  and  dryness  in  others, 
I  cannot  quite  comprehend.  Mr,  Fletcher  is  right 
when  he  affirms,  that  by  study  and  prayer  the  best 
thoughts  are  secured,  and  therefore  I  rise  to  say  : 

"  You  can  have  a  good  prayer-meeting  when  the  topic 
is  announced  ahead.  But  now  to  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets.  It  seems  to  me  we  have  some  Scriptural 
example,  if  not  authority,  for  topical  prayer-meetings. 
Christ  says  :  '  If  two  of  you  agree  on  earth  as  touching 
any  thing  they  shall  ask,  etc'  What  ever  two  or  more 
persons  may  agree  upon  to  pray  for,  is  the  topic  for 
that  meeting.  Again :  When  Christ  saw  the  greatness 
of  the  harvest  and  the  fewness  of  the  reapers.  He 
announces  a  topical  prayer-meeting  :  '  Pray  ye,  there- 
fore, the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  He  will  send 
forth  laborers  into  the  harvest.'  Here  the  topic  was 
previously  announced,  and  I  presume  they  had  a  good 
prayer-meeting.  Let  us  not  condemn  what  Christ 
commends.  There  is  another.  The  prayer-meeting  at 
Pentecost  was  a  topical  one,  and  Christ  himself  an- 
nounced it.  It  was :  *  The  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost' 
I  do  not  know  whether  they  '  studied  up  speeches  '  or 
.    not,  or  whether  it  was  void  of  '  spontaneous  enthusiasm 


OBJECTIONS    CONSIDERED.  CfJ 

and  freshness,'  but  I  do  know  that  it  was  a  blessed 
meeting,  for  they  received  power  from  on  high. 
Should  not  this  not  only  hush  our  opposition  but 
awaken  our  hearts  to  favor  when  we  know  that  the 
Apostolic  Church  had  its  origin  in  a  prayer-meeting 
at  which  a  topic  was  previously  announced.  But  there 
is  one  more.  Peter  is  in  prison.  The  church  holds 
a  topical  prayer-meeting.  I  do  not  think  it  was  announ- 
ced the  Sunday  before.  But  they  have  but  one  topic 
before  them,  viz. —  Peter's  Deliverance  —  and  it  was  an 
ever  memorable  occasion,  for  Peter  stood  knocking 
at  the  gate.  Will  the  brother  call  that  a  good  meeting  ? 
"  But  historically  :  In  the  history  of  the  church,  the 
great  impulses  to  a  revival  of  religion  have  had  their 
birth  in  meetings  for  prayer,  where  they  have  come  to- 
gether with  one  accord  and  one  topic.  All  the  re- 
vivals in  which  I  have  been  concerned  can  be  traced 
to  the  unity  of  hearts  for  the  one  great  thing.  And 
my  meetings  which  have  been  the  richest  in  heavenly 
blessings,  where  it  seemed  '  that  God  came  down  our 
souls  to  greet,'  have  been  those  where  I  announced 
the  topic  from  the  pulpit  on  Sabbath  morning.  Has 
not  the  Week  of  Prayer  been  a  great  blessing  to  the 
church  ?  Yet  they  are  topical  meetings.  All  the  ob- 
jections that  the  zealous  brother  urges  lie  not  against 
the   announcing  the   topic,  but   at   the  door  of  those 


98  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

who  '  Study  up  speeches '  as  delineated   in   the  article 
in  question. 

"This  is  most  clearly  set  forth  in  the  Interior  of  the 
1 2th  inst.,  in  Mrs.  C.  M.  Livingston's  report  of  her 
prayer-meeting.  What  a  vast  difference  between  her's 
and  Mr.  Fletcher's.  Both  were  topical,  and  previously 
announced,  but  they  are  as  diverse  as  two  worlds. 
Who  will  say  the  last  was  not  a  good  and  blessed 
meeting.  Yes,  you  can  have  the  presence  of  God 
when  you  have  the  topic  announced." 


CHAPTER  X. 

Some  Opinions   of   Pastors. 
On  the  Utility  of  Topics. 

THE  use  of  subjects  for  the  prayer-meeting,  pre- 
viously announced  for  the  benefit  of  the  people, 
either  by  printed  card  or  by  word  of  mouth  from  the 
pulpit,  is  no  longer  a  matter  of  speculation  merely,  but 
has  received  the  test  of  trial  for  years  past,  by  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  of  churches  in  all  parts  of  the 
land,  and,  so  far  as  is  known  to  me,  has  resulted  in 
the  decided  improvement  of  prayer-meetings,  both  in 
the  matter  of  attendance,  and  in  an  increase  in  the 
number  of  those  who  take  part  in  the  exercises.  I 
have  thought  the  opinions  of  pastors  who  have  sub- 
jected this  thing  to  trial  would  present  our  subject 
in  the  light,  and  with  the  force  which  experience  gives 
to  theory. 

The   following  remarks  on  the    utility  of   topics  by 
some  of   my  brethren  in  the  ministry,  which  have  been 
so  kindly  placed  at  my  disposal,  are  very  interesting, 
and  enforce  themselves  : 
99 


lOO  HOW   TO    CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

224  E.  1 2th  St.,  New  York,  April  7th,  1879. 

Rev.  Lewis  O.  Thompson,  Peoria,  111. : 

My  dear  Brother — For  several  years  past,  here  and 
in  my  former  charge  at  Toronto,  in  Canada,  I  have 
used  a  prepared  list  of  topics  in  the  prayer-meeting, 
and  this  experience  is  altogether  in  favor  of  such  a 
plan. 

1.  It  saves  the  leader  from  the  harassing  and  often 
humiliating  hunt  for  a  subject,  from  week  to  week, 
sometimes  at  the  last  moment. 

2.  It  renders  possible  a  systematic  consideration  of 
related  subjects,  grouped  in  short  courses,  covering  a 
few  weeks. 

3.  It  enables  the  brethren  of  the  church  who  take 
part  in  the  service,  to  come  with  that  preparation 
which  enables  them  to  do  so  with  the  best  effect ;  for 
which  purpose  the  leader  can  bespeak  their  assistance 
beforehand. 

4.  Special  provision  can  be  systematically  made 
for  adopting  the  topics  to  the  several  seasons  of  the 
year,  and  for  taking  up  missionary  fields,  temperance, 
and  such  special   interests. 

5.  If  it  is  desired  to  have  the  prayer-meeting  follow 
up  the  teaching  of  the  Sunday-school  or  of  the  pulpit, 
the  topics  can  be  arranged   accordingly. 


SOME   OPINIONS  OF   PASTOkS.  lOI 

6.  The  experience  of  other  brethren,  in  the  selection 
and  arrangement  of  topics,  can  be  made  use  of  by 
any  pastor  in  relation  to  his  own  meeting. 

7.  The  same  benefits  that  accrue  from  union  in  a 
common  course  of  S.  S.  Lessons  are  made  possible  as 
to  the  prayer-meeting,  when  the  churches  of  a  city  or 
district  agree  on  a  common  list.  The  topic  of  the 
week  becomes  a  matter  of  general  study  and  conver- 
sation. Any  prayer-meeting  attendant  is  at  home,  if 
he  "  drops  in "  at  such  a  service  away  from  his  own 
place.  Perhaps,  already,  the  religious  papers  publish 
"  Prayer-meeting  Helps."     If  not,  they  may. 

8.  The  possible  objection,  that  meetings  may  be- 
come "  cut  and  dry,"  is  not  realized  in  fact.  If  the 
topics  are  spicy  in  themselves,  and  are  handled  by  live 
men,  this  will  not  be.  Some  of  the  driest  services  I 
have  known,  have  been  on  the  extempore  plan. 

9.  Should  any  special  state  of  feeling  arise,  neces- 
sitating a  departure  from  the  printed  plan,  no  sensible 
leader  would  hesitate  a  moment  to  lay  it  aside  for  one 
or  more  meetings.  But  this  will  not  happen  so  often 
as  might  be  apprehended. 

10.  The  experience  of  the  churches  and  Y.  M.  C. 
Associations  who  have  tried  this  phm,  is  strongly  in 
favor   of  it.  F.  H,  Marling, 

Pastor  J 4th  St.  Presby.  Ch. 


I03  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS, 

Rock  Island,  III.,  April  14th,  1879. 

My  dear  Brother — On  the  matter  pf  "Topics  for 
the  Prayer-meeting,"  I  would  say  that  all  through  my 
ministry,  it  has  been  my  custom,  in  some  way,  to  have 
the  people  know  in  advance  what  the  subject  would 
be.  Sometimes  I  have  annonnced  the  topic  from  week 
to  week,  and  sometimes  by  printed  list.  But  my  pref- 
erence is  for  the  latter  method,  for  several  reasons. 
The  subjects  can  be  carefully  selected,  as  is  not  always 
the  case  when  they  are  chosen  and  announced  from 
meeting  to  meeting.  Subjects  properly  related  to  each 
other,  and  in  their  proper  and  natural  order,  can  thus 
be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  people.  Thus,  with 
care  on  the  part  of  the  pastor,  or  committee,  selecting 
topics,  the  themes  for  the  year  can  be  made  to  form 
a  concatenated  series  of  profitable  studies  and  medi- 
tations. In  preparing  the  course  for  the  whole  year, 
opportunity  is  also  given  for  a  large  variety  of  sub- 
jects, avoiding  the  narrow  range  of  easy  and  familiar 
topics,  to  which  many  of  us  are  so  apt  to  turn  for 
prayer-meetings.  All  of  these  points  place,  as  it  will 
be  observed,  great  responsibility  on  the  person  or 
persons  selecting  and  arranging  the  list  for  the 
year. 

Then   there   are   other    advantages   quite    as    great. 
The  people   all   know  what  the  subject   is  to  be,  and, 


SOME  OPINIONS    OF   PASTORS.  IO3 

if  they  are  diligent,  can  come  to  the  meeting  with  hearts 
full  of  it,  ready  to  understand  and  enjoy  what  is  said, 
even  if  they  take  no  part  themselves.  Those  who  are 
accustomed  to  speak,  can  come  prepared  to  speak  to 
the  point,  and  not  to  wander  aimlessly  in  unpremedi- 
tated speech.  Thus  unity  will  be  given  to  the  meetings, 
and  they  will  not  fall  into  fragments  like  one  which  I 
attended  some  time  ago,  when  the  pastor  spoke  on  the 
parable  of  the  leaven,  an  elder  following  on  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath,  another  on  the  importance  of 
family  training,  a  third  on  the  love  of  God,  and  an 
enthusiastic  young  brother,  only  a  few  weeks  a  Chris- 
tian, fervently  pleading  with  the  members,  every  one  a 
professing  Christian,  to  come  to  Jesus. 
Fraternally  yours, 

J.  R.  Miller. 
Pastor  Broadway  Presby.  Ch. 

"This  is  the  third  year,"  writes  Rev.  S.  C.  Palmer,  of 
Lockland,  Ohio,  "that  I  have  been  using  prepared 
topics  in  my  mid-week  prayer-meetings,  and  I  unhesita- 
tingly give  my  testimony  in  favor  of  them.  They  have 
been  very  helpful  to  me,  in  that  I  have  a  subject  always 
ready.  They  add  much  to  the  interest  of  our  meetings, 
the  brethren  who  study  them  being  ready  with  some 
thought  in  harmony  with  the  subject  —  the  sisters  also 


I04  HOW   TO   CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

adding  their  help  by  way  of  parallel  Scripture,  eithei 
recited  or  read. 

"  Sometimes  a  subject  seems  bare  when  we  first  take 
it  up,  but  study,  and  a  comparison  of  ideas,  always  bring 
rich  fruit.  To  us  it  is  also  a  pleasant  thought  to  re- 
member that  many  others  of  our  brethren  elsewhere  are 
engaged  in  the  study  of  the  same  passage  at  the  same 
time. 

"  My  private  opinion  is,  that  this  whole  subject  of 
prayer-meeting  topics  is  yet  in  its  infancy. 

"  I  predict  that  the  day  is  near  when  all  Christian 
people  will  be  engaged  at  the  same  time,  upon  the  same 
passage,  in  their  prayer-meetings,  and  that  our  religious 
papers  will  employ  the  best  talent  to  prepare  each  week 
an  article  for  aiding  the  general  reader  in  getting  ready 
for  the  prayer-meeting. 

"  If  that  time  comes,  of  course  we  shall  have  an  abun- 
dance of  literature  upon  the  subject.  My  opinion  is 
that  very  much  good  might  now  be  done,  if  our  religious 
papers  would  establish  a  prayer-meeting  department, 
and  invite  the  pastors  of  our  churches  to  contribute 
their  plans  and  methods. 

"  My  heart  is  in  the  i7nproveme?it  of  the  prayer- 
meeting^  Fraternally,  etc. 

S.  C.  Palmer. 
Pastor,  Lockland,  Ohio. 


SOME  OPINIONS    OF  PASTORS.  tO$ 

Experience  has  been  long  considered  a  good  teacher 

The  writer  has  learned  in  this  school  that  "  topics 
for  the  prayer-meeting  "  are  useful  both  to  pastor  and 
people.  It  saves  the  pastor  many  a  precious  moment' 
looking  for  the  right  passage,  or  subject,  for  the  next 
meeting. 

It  gives  the  people  an  opportunity  to  know  in  advance 
the  theme  for  the  evening,  and  to  make  some  prepara- 
tion, if  disposed,  for  participating  in  the  services. 

It  tends  to  secure  system  in  the  weekly  instructions, 
which  is  one  of  the  essentials  to  growth  in  grace. 

The  past  year,  which  is  the  first  in  which  I  ,have  used 
printed  topics,  has  been  the  most  satisfactory  one  of  my 
ministry  in  this  department ;  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
commend  the  plan  heartily  to  those  who  have  not 
tried  it. 

J.  D.  Kerr. 
Pastor  17th  St.  Presby.  Ch.,  Denver,  Col. 

Attleboro'  Falls,  Mass.,  April  7th,  1879. 

Bro.  Thompson  —  I  can  cordially  respond  to  your  re- 
quest, for  in  my  experience  I  have  found  the  giving  out 
of  "  topics  "  to  be  remarkably  efficient.  Those  who 
wish  to  flood  a  meeting  with  "  experience  "  which  is  no 


lo6  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

experience,  and  with  "  testimonies  "  which,  as  they  give 
them,  are  often  worse  than  total  silence,  object  on  the 
ground  that  topics  narrow  the  range  and  hamper  their 
freedom.  But  I  have  thought  the  topics  good  on  this 
very  ground. 

I  have  also  found  my  people  willing  to  give  some 
preparation  to  the  prayer-meeting  when  they  knew  the 
topic.  God  bless  you  for  your  labor  of  love  in  the 
grand  prayer-meeting  work,  which  draws  more  on  my 
nervous  system  than  my  pulpit  labors. 
Yours  truly, 

F.  D.  Kelsey. 

Topics,  selected  and  announced  beforehand,  are  use- 
ful in  promoting  and  increasing  the  interest  in  the 
prayer-meeting  in  several  ways.  There  is  a  degree  of 
curiosity  in  every  individual,  and  this  is  awakened  and 
becomes  alert  when  a  topic  for  discussion  is  announced. 
The  curious  ones  will  come,  then,  to  hear  what  the 
pastor  or  others  may  have  to  say  on  this  subject,  and 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  may  direct  the  word  of  power 
and  salvation  to  their  souls.  The  thoughtful  ones  will 
meditate  and  ponder  over  the  topic,  until  they  become 
so  interested  that  they  will  speak  to  others,  and  thus 
the  interest  will  grow  and  widen,  and  when  the  time  for 


SOME  OPINIONS    OF  PASTORS.  I07 

prayer-meeting  comes,  there  will  be  several  persons 
"  full  of  the  subject."  The  reading  ones  will  run 
through  their  books  and  papers  to  find  something  bear- 
ing on  the  topic,  and  thus  will  bring  their  minds  into 
the  right  channel,  and  CQine  to  the  meeting  with  fresh- 
ened ideas  and  new  zeal.  The  praying  ones  will  have  a 
subject  upon  which  to  frame  their  prayers,  and  in  this 
way  will  easily  get  out  of  the  "  old  ruts  "  and  "  set 
phrases,"  and  come  to  the  house  of  prayer  with  an 
entirely  new  stock  of  feelings.  The  singing  ones  will 
select  their  songs  and  key  their  voices  in  adaptation  to 
the  topic,  and  thus  the  music  will  be  with  the  *'  under- 
standing" as  well  as  "with  the  spirit."  Above  all,  by 
announcing  the  topic,  the  pastor  has  committed  himself 
to  the  study  of  the  subject,  and  then,  by  the  help  of  the 
Spirit,  its  elaboration  will  be  for  the  profit  of  all. 

C.  W.  Carter. 
Pastor  M.  E.  Ch.  Bastrop,  La. 

Detroit,  April  24th,  1879. 

My  dear  Brother — What  I  deem  of  the  highest 
importance  is  the  furnishing  the  members  of  the 
church  with  a  printed  scheme  of  topics,  so  that  they 
may  know  beforehand  the  subject  to  be  talked  and 
prayed  about.     Those  who  take  part  in  the   meeting 


Io8  HOW  TO    CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

will  thus  come  prepared  to  speak,  and  all  will  take 
far  more  interest  in  the  conference  than  they  otherwise 
could.  We  would  on  no  account  abandon  the  plan 
of  prayer-meeting  schemes. 

Truly  yours, 

Geo.  D.  Baker,  D.  D. 

Rev.  L.  O.  Thompson  : 

Deposit,  N.  Y.,  April  14th,  1879. 

Dear  Brother  —  About  two  years  and  a  half  ago,  I 
introduced  such  a  series  of  topics  in  the  prayer-meeting, 
printing  a  few  slips  for  distribution  from  month  to 
month,  on  a  little  hand-press  I  have.  On  doing  so, 
there  was,  to  my  mind,  an  evident  increase  of  interest  on 
the  part  of  those  attending,  and  much  more  point  in  the 
prayers  and  remarks  of  those  taking  part  in  the  meet- 
ing. This  plan  was  followed  through  the  last  year  and 
a  half  of  my  last  pastorate.  To  show  how  it  was  liked 
by  the  membership,  I  have  only  to  say,  that  though 
vacant  for  nearly  a  year,  they  kept  up  their  meetings  in 
the  same  way,  sending  to  me  for  a  list  of  subjects,  and 
I  believe  are  pursuing  the  same  plan  to-day. 

I  came  to  this  place  last  May,  and  at  once  proposed 
and  put  in  operation  the  list  of  topics,  and  I  am  satis- 


SOME    OPINIONS  OF   PASTORS.  lOp 

fied  that  the  meetings  have  increased  both  in  numbers 
and  interest,  and  that  those  attending  are  generally- 
pleased,  and  I  trust  edified. 

From  this  experience  then,  I  am  prepared  to  say 
that  the  plan  is  a  good  one,  and  works  well.  My 
methods  of  conducting,  I  vary.  One  week  it  will  be  a 
Bible-reading ;  another,  I  will  divide  up  the  topic  or 
passage  of  Scripture  into  parts,  or  subjects,  or  ques- 
tions, and  ask  three,  four,  or  five  each  to  talk  on  one 
which  I  assign  them ;  or  I  sometimes  leave  the  meeting 
to  their  spontaneous  thought  on  the  subject.  Thus  I 
try  to  have  variety  as  well  as  unity  in  my  meetings, 
I  remain  yours  fraternally, 

Jas.  B.  Fisher, 
Pastor,  Deposit,  N.  Y. 


OwATONNA,  Minn.,  April  15th,  1879. 
Rev.  L.  O.  Thompson  : 

Dear  Brother —  I  have  been  using  the  topical  system 
in  my  prayer-meetings  since  the  beginning  of  the  pres- 
ent year.  While  this  is  not,  perhaps,  a  sufficient  length 
of  time  in  which  thoroughly  to  test  the  system,  yet  I 
am  convinced  from  my  brief  experience  that  the  plan  is 
an   admirable   one,  and  that  if  faithfully  followed    it 


no  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

would  invariably  result  in  awakening  a  deeper  interest 
in  the  meetings  of  our  churches  for  prayer  and  the 
study  of  the  Word.  With  us  the  plan  is  working  well, 
and  I  am  sure  the  same  will  prove  true  of  any  other 
church,  if  care  is  exercised  in  the  selection  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  topics.       Fraternally, 

C.  H.  DeWolfe. 
Pastor  Baptist  Ch. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Some  Views  of  Ministers. 

On  the  Advantages  to  be  Derived  from  Usmg  Uni- 
form Subjects. 

THERE  is,  at  the  present  time,  a  marked  tendency 
in  the  direction  of  a  number  of  churches,  unit- 
ing to  use  the  same  topics  for  their  prayer-meetings. 
There  are  as  many  as  five  or  six  series  of  Hsts  being 
used  in  concert  by  as  many  different  clusters  of  Chris- 
tians in  their  circles  of  prayer,  and  I  know  not  how 
many  others  there  may  be,  who  are  associated  for  the 
same  purpose.  If  subjects  should  be  made  uniform 
for  all  Christian  churches,  we  should  secure  still  more 
thought,  preparation,  prayer  and  exposition  for  them. 
Religious  papers  would  then  be  willing  to  devote  a 
portion  of  their  space  for  hints  and  methods  to  in- 
crease the  efficiency  of  this  branch  of  the  church's 
work.  The  persons  having  the  greatest  wisdom,  skill 
and  experience  would  be  chosen  for  the  annual  com- 
mittee to  select  a  list  of  topics  for  each  year  to 
cover  the  various  ranges  of  Christian  experience,  fel- 
lowship, communion  and  relative  duties  to  God  and 
III 


112  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

to  fellow-man,  as  these  find  illustration  and  enforce- 
ment in  the  Word  of  God  and  are  "  profitable  for 
doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness ;  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect, 
thoroughly   furnished    unto  all    good  works." 

Such  a  custom  may  prove  useful  in  drawing  Chris- 
tian denominations  still  nearer  to  each  other.  All  the 
fruit  that  the  International  series  of  S.  S.  lessons  has 
been  bearing,  will  be  borne  by  uniform  Scriptural 
topics  for  the  prayer-meeting.  There  is  not  that 
bitterness  manifest  between  sects  and  denominations 
that  formerly  existed.  Uniform  texts  of  Scripture  for 
circles  of  prayer  would  prove  a  standing  evangelical 
alliance,  and  draw  Christian  hearts  nearer  to  God  and 
nearer  to  each  other.  To  pray  over  the.  same  sub- 
jects from  the  Bible,  on  each  recurring  prayer-meeting 
night  throughout  the  year,  would  bear  a  harvest  of 
fraternity,  sweetness  and  love.  It  would  also  prove  of 
great  help  to  churches  without  pastors  and  stated 
supplies. 

It  gives  me  pleasure  to  be  able  to  introduce  some 
views  of  the  clergy  on  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
using  the  same  subjects  for  the  weekly  prayer-meeting. 
The  first  article  was  written  by  the  Rev.  J.  C.  McClin- 
tock,  and  presents  the  whole  matter  in  a  clear  and 
philosophic  light  that  must  secure   for  this  chapter  a 


SOME  VIEWS  OF   MINISTERS.  II3 

greater  share  of  public  attention  than  I  could  hope 
to  secure  in  any  other  way.  This  article  was  first 
printed  in  the  Herald  and  Presbyter  of  Cincinnati : 

"Some  people,"  he  writes,  "are  born  full  of  objec- 
tions. They  are  ready  with  a  protest  against  the 
nurse's  first  handling,  and  all  subsequent  experiences 
find  them  in  the  same  mood.  Irish  fashion,  they  are 
bound  always  to  see  the  other  side  of  anything  offered 
them  first ;  and  one  of  the  surest  ways  to  win  them, 
is  to  oppose  them.  But,  after  all,  they  are  a  most 
vigorous  and  valuable  element  in  society.  I  used  to 
be  out  of  patience  with  their  ways  —  always  pointing 
out  the  weak  spots  in  the  plan,  and  seeing  the  dangers 
in  the  way,  and  cooling  off  the  ardor  of  thoughtless 
enthusiasts.  But  I  confess  now  to  a  growing  respect 
and  sympathy  for  the  constitutional  and  chronic  objec- 
tor. It  is  a  good  plan  to  look  at  the  other  side  before 
leaping  into  any  new  project.  So  I  have  tried  to  look 
up  some  of  the  objections  that  are  sure  to  be  made 
against  the  idea  of  uniform  topics  for  the  prayer-meet- 
ing, and  to  question  these  objections  by  the  facts  of 
experience  : 

"  I.  The  proposed  plan  of  uniform  topics  can  not 
meet  the  wants  of  the  individual  churches.  No  com- 
mittee can  know  the  condition  of  all  the  churches,  and 
what  might  suit  one  would  not  suit  another. 


114        "      HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

"  The  same  objection  was  made  against  the  idea  of 
unifonn  topics  for  the  Sunday-schools,  and  it  was  car- 
ried further.  They  said  the  classes  of  the  same  school 
can  not  be  united  in  the  study  of  the  same  lesson. 
But  experience  shows  they  can.  You  recall  Mr.  Mc- 
Cook's  answer  to  this  objection  :  '  The  joint  that  would 
make  a  good  roast  for  the  adults  would  also  make 
a  nourishing  broth  for  the  children,'  It  depends  on 
the  cooking,  you  see.  If  the  topics  of  the  prayer- 
meeting  cover  the  ordinary  range  of  subjects,  practi- 
cal, experimental  and  doctrinal,  that  are  needed  in  an 
average  church  they  will  be  very  likely  to  suit  exactly 
the  church  at  large. .  God's  word  has  a  wonderful 
adaptability  to  the  experiences  and  wants  of  men 
and  women  everywhere.  God's  promise,  '  I  will  help 
thee,'  may  come  with  equal  force  and  comfort  to  the 
poor  tired  seamstress  who  is  almost  broken  down  by 
the  drudgery  of  her  life,  and  who  has  come  to  the 
prayer-meeting  for  encouragement ;  and  to  the  busi- 
ness man  who  has  the  perplexities  of  a  trade  worth  a 
million  dollars  tormenting  his  brain. 

"  2.  This  plan  allows  no  opportunity  to  take  advantage 
of  passing  events,  or  the  providential  circumstances 
of  the  pastor  and  people.  The  topic  for  the  evening 
may  find  some  congregation  in  the  house  of  Bochim. 
It  is   true   that   sometimes   the  passage   of   Scripture, 


SOME  VIEWS   OF   MINISTERS.  II5 

in  course,  may  not  be  what  the  pastor  would  have 
selected  to  meet  the  circumstances  of  his  people.  In 
such  exceptional  cases  let  him  depart  from  the  regular 
course.  Just  as  we  do  in  Sunday-school.  But  this 
departure  will  not  be  called  for  very  often.  So  full 
of  truth  is  God's  Word,  and  so  flexible  is  it,  that  there 
are  few  passages  or  chapters  that  may  not  be  so  ap- 
plied as  to  meet  the  present  wants  of  the  people. 
Most  of  the  Word  can  be  read  in  the  light  of  to-day's 
trials  or  duties. 

"  3.  This  plan  would  interfere  with  the  liberty  of 
the  pastors  in  their  peculiar  province.  It  would  in- 
terrupt their  plans  of  work.  Most  pastors  could  lay 
out  a  course  of  study  and  plan  a  set  of  prayer-meeting 
topics  for  their  own  people,  that  would  be  better 
adapted  to  them  than  any  that  a  committee  could 
furnish. 

"  This  is  all  true  —  probably.  But,  as  a  matter  of 
facts,  few  pastors  or  churches  have  a  regular  plan  of 
work  for  the  prayer-meeting.  Many  pastors  give  but 
little  time  to  the  study  of  the  prayer-meeting  topic, 
and  often  there  is  no  topic  selected  until  the  pastor 
opens  the  Bible  in  the  meeting.  A  carefully  arranged 
series  of  topics  would  secure  more  preparation  on  the 
part  of  the  pastors,  and  it  would  also  stimulate  the 
people  to  the  study  of  the  Word. 


Il6  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

"  4,  Where  is  this  thing  to  end  ?  Pretty  soon  a  com- 
nittee  will  be  laying  out  topics  for  the  pulpit ;  and  we 
ivill  have  our  ministers  asked  to  preach  through  a 
yearly  programme  of  texts. 

"  Well,  if  the  worst  must  come,  why  not  ?  There 
would  be  fewer  old  sermons  preached.  Pastors  would 
be  relieved  of  the  worr}'  and  waste  of  time  caused  by 
the  weekly  hunt  for  a  '  subject  for  next  Sunday.'  They 
would,  many  of  them,  preach  over  a  far  wider  range 
of  topics  than  they  do  now,  and  they  would  have  a 
good  excuse  for  some  plain  sermons  on  delicate  sub- 
jects, which,  if  they  were  not  in  regular  course,  might 
be  considered  very  personal. 

"  I  have  an  experience  of  two  years'  use  of  a  pub- 
lished list  of  topics  for  the  prayer-meeting.  It  has 
worked  well,  and  has  done  us  great  good.    See  here  : 

"  I.  The  pastor  studies  for  the  prayer-meeting  a 
great  deal  harder  than  he  used  to.  He  must.  For 
the  people  are  studying  too,  arid  he  must  bring  the 
water  from  fresh  springs.  The  stagnant  pool  will 
not  do. 

"3.  The  people  study  the  Word  more.  They  find 
topics  that  appeal  to  their  present  wants,  and  that  are 
illustrated  by  their  experience  of  the  day  in  the  shop, 
store,  field  and  house.  The  Word  has  a  more  prac- 
tical relation  to  every  day  life  than  before. 


SOME  VIEWS   OF    MINISTERS.  117 

"3.  The  prayer-meetings  are  interesting.  This  re- 
sults from  the  facts  above  named.  Pastor  and  people 
come  to  it  already  interested.  They  don't  have  to 
spend  three-fourths  of  the  hour  '  getting  up  '  an 
interest. 

"4.  There  is  unity  of  thought  and  effort.  Prayers 
have  a  point  and  directness  caught  from  the  subject. 
There  is  less  scattering  shot  than  under  the  old  plan. 

"  5.  The  printed  list  placed  in  the  Bibles  of  the 
people  serve  to  keep  the  fact  of  the  prayer-meeting 
before  them.  It  is  an  announcement  every  time  they 
see  it.  And  the  neat  card  furnishes  the  handiest 
possible  invitation  to  strangers  to  come. 

"  Try  it,  brethren,  and  let  us  have  the  strength  and 
interest  that  are  born  of  united  effort." 

•  Dear  Sir  —  My  opinion  on  uniformity,  etc.,  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  I,  years  ago,  started  the  matter,  so  far 
as  T  know,  without  a  precedent  to  follow,  and  intro- 
duced a  uniform  scheme  in  all  the  Presbyterian  churches 
of  Detroit,  and  afterward  in  the  Presbytery  started  a 
similar  scheme.  I  send  a  copy  of  both  in  another 
enclosure. 

Could  the  religious  papers  treat  the  topic  as  the 
S.  S.  topic  is  now —  only  prayer-meeting-wise  —  what  an 
incalculable  help  to  the  feeble  churches,  many  of  whom 


Il8  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

have  no  minister.  And  what  an  advantage  in  giving 
prominence  to  the  spiritual  and  practical  character  of 
the  church-meeting !  But  the  whole  thing  must  be  flex- 
ible, not  rigid  or.frigid  ;  in  revivals  or  unusual  state  of 
things  must  of  course  give  way,  and  so  to  monthly 
concert.  What  a  blessing  if  one  night  could  be  uniform, 
and  the  first  meeting  of  the  month  be  a  concert  for 
missions !  Arthur  T.  Pierson,  D,  D. 

Detroit,  Mich. 

ViNCENNES,  Ind.,  April  24th,  1879. 
Rev.  L,  O.  Thompson  : 

Dear  Sir  and  Brother —  In  my  ministerial  experience 
I  have  found  the  prayer-meeting  the  one  most  difficult 
to  conduct  satisfactorily,  and  yet  my  conviction  of  the 
very  great  importance  of  it  as  a  meeting  has  been  con- 
stantly increasing.  I  have  been  as  conscientious  in  my 
preparation  for  it,  and  have  expended  as  much  thought 
and  care  upon  it,  ordinarily,  as  upon  any  other  one 
service.  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  work  done  here  is 
profitable,  and  yields  large  returns. 

I  have  been  much  interested  in  and  helped  by  your 
recent  book  on  "  The  Prayer-Meeting,"  and  I,  for  one 
would   be   heartily  glad   if  our   churches   could  adopt 


SOME  VIEWS  OF   MINISTERS.  119 

some  plan  by  which  we  might  have  uniformity  in  these 
services,  instead  of  the  too  often  and  largely  unsatis- 
factory methods  which  have  been  obtained.  Invited 
by  your  note  to  express  my  views,  I  do  so  in  favor  of 
the  system  in  which  you,  for  one,  have  already  done 
most  commendable  work.  I  believe  that  by  a  uniform- 
ity of  topics  in  our  various  churches,  the  bond  of  union 
between  us  would  be  strengthened  and  spiritualized,  for 
we  would  feel  emphasized  the  great  fact  that  we  are 
ONE  in  praying  over  God's  Word,  and  pleading  with 
Him  on  the  mercy  seat. 

For  three  years  I  have  used  a  printed  list  of  topics 
in  my  prayer-meetings.  My  success  in  inducing  the 
members  to  take  part  has  not  been  what  I  have  hoped 
for,  but  we  are  all  assured  that  it  is  good  to  have  our 
printed  list.  This  is  in  the  hands  of  all  our  members, 
and  I  frequently  announce  the  subject  on  Sabbath 
morning,  in  addition.  Very  generally  the  passage  is 
read,  and  thought  upon,  and  prayed  over,  by  those  who 
attend  the  prayer-meeting.  There  is  an  advantage  in 
having  the  subject  known  beforehand,  not  only  by  those 
who  pray  in  public,  and  speak,  but  by  those  whose 
voices  are  not  heard,  but  who  are  mighty  in  prayer. 

Very  generally  the  subjects  have  been  appropriate 
for  weeks  and  months  at  a  time.  If  for  any  peculiar 
occasion   a   change  is   desirable,  the  change   is  easily 


I20  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

made  and  announced.  I  shall  continue  to  use  a  printed 
list  of  subjects,  so  long  as  I  feel  that  God  blesses  the 
plan  as  He  has  done.  We  have  a  perpetual  revival  in 
our  church.  The  prayer-meeting  is  loved  by  the  people. 
Our  attendance  is  over  a  hundred,  unless  something 
extraordinary  interferes  with  it.  I  thank  you  most 
heartily  for  the  good  I  have  already  received  from  your 
work,  and  pray  that  the  abvmdant  blessing  of  God  may 
still  rest  on  your  labors. 

Yours  for  the  Master, 

E.  P.  Whallon. 

My  dear  Sir  —  Your  note  of  the  loth  inst.  is  before 
me.  I  have  no  confident  opinion  to  express  on  the 
question  of  uniform  topics.  The  analogy  between  the 
Sunday-school  and  the  prayer-meeting  is  not  so  close  as 
to  make  it  certain  that  what  is  good  for  one  is  equally 
good  for  the  other.  The  adoption  of  the  uniform  les- 
sons for  the  Sunday-school  has  given  a  new  impulse 
and  cast  to  the  Sunday-school  work,  and  especially  to 
the  study  of  all  parts  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  connec- 
tion therewith.  I  do  not,  however,  feel  sure  that  it 
will  be  best  to  keep  it  up  always. 

The  uniform  topics  for  the  prayer-meeting,  I  should 
think,  (without  having  had  any  experience  under  their 
adoption),  might  work  favorably  to  correct  the  loose, 


SOME  VIEWS    OF   MINISTERS.  121 

helter-skelter,  aimless  exercises,  which  often  fill  up  the 
hour  to  little  good  purpose.  On  the  other  hand,  free- 
dom and  spontaneity  are  essential  qualities  for  a  profit- 
able meeting,  and  there  is  reason  to  fear  that,  if  the 
exercises  are  brought  under  a  rule  of  uniformity  in 
respect  to  topics,  it  will  tend  to  formality  and  stiffness, 
too  much  like  praying  by  the  book.  The  golden  mean 
is  between  these  extremes.  It  seems  to  me  well  to  give 
the  churches  a  chance  to  try  the  experiment  of  coming 
into  uniformity  and  concert  of  action,  though  it  may  be 
but  a  temporary  thing.  I  welcome  any  measure  which 
will  tend  to  extend  and  intensify  interest  in  the  prayer- 
meetings  of  the  church,  and  to  deepen  the  spiritual  tone 
of  such  exercises. 

Very  truly  yours, 

A.  L.  Chapin. 

Dr.  Chapin,  who  is  president  of  Beloit  College,  and 
one  of  the  editors  of  Johnson's  *'  New  and  Universal 
Cyclopedia,"  has  served  on  the  committee  that  selected 
the  subjects  for  the  Sunday-school.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  danger  he  thinks  connected  with  this  use  may 
be  avoided.  There  is  no  inevitable  connection  between 
"  formality  and  stiffness "  and  an  announced  topic. 
"  Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty." 


122  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

**  I  can  not  see,"  writes  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Fletcher,  of 
Parma,  Mich.,  "  why  uniformity  in  topics  for  the  prayer- 
meeting  would  not  secure  all  the  advantages  that  are 
secured  for  the  Sunday-school  in  uniformity  of  teaching. 
Beside  securing  these  advantages,  it  would  facilitate 
Christian  union,  and  especially  if  we  could  arrange  for 
gatherings  similar  to  our  Normal  classes.  It  is  good  to 
study  the  Word  together.  It  must  certainly  be  good 
for  us  to  unite  our  prayers  —  for  all  Christians  of  the 
various  churches  to  pray  together.  Where  we  have 
tried  it  to  any  considerable  extent  in  this  section  of  the 
countr}^,  we  have  found  it  to  be  a  success." 

Dear  Bro. —  I  find  from  experience,  uniformity  of 
topics  for  prayer-meeting  to  be  an  advantage  in  break- 
ing up  set  forms  of  prayer,  in  encouraging  special 
preparation  on  the  part  of  all  who  take  a  part,  espec- 
ially the  leader,  in  causing  short,  pointed  remarks  and 
prayers,  in  causing  Scripture  verses  to  be  committed 
to  memory,  and  repeated  on  the  topic  for  the  meet- 
ing, and  in  awakening  and  sustaining  a  lively  interest 
generally.  Respectfully, 

M.  V.  B.  Vantisdale. 
Pastor  Green  Valley,  III. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Typical  Prayer- Meetings. 

I  DESIGN  here  to  give  a  variety  of  incidents  to 
illustrate  in  one  way  and  another  the  heading  of 
this  chapter,  that  each  one  may  see  for  himself  how 
prayer-meetings  are  killed,  what  need  there  is  of  im- 
provement, and  in  what  way  they  may  be  improved. 

Dr.  Gray,  editor  of  the  Interior,  on  his  way  home 
from  the  last  General  Assembly  at  Saratoga  Springs, 
had  to  wait  for  change  of  cars  at  Schenectady,  and 
among  other  things  which  appeared  in  his  paper  for 
June  5th,  was  a  brief  account  of  a  typical  prayer- 
meeting  which  he  attended  whilst  the  slow  hours 
were  creeping  along  : 

"Thence  we  strayed,"  he  wrote,  "up  the  ancient 
streets  of  Schenectady,  in  search  of  the 'Reformed 
(  Dutch  )  church,  where  a  prayer-meeting  was  in  prog- 
ress. The  building  is  modern  and  very  graceful  in 
architecture.  Worship  had  begun  when  we  entered. 
There  were  present  eight  men  and  fifty-six  women. 
An  old  brother  rose,  and  in  a  most  melancholy 
tone  began  an  exhortation  which  seemed  interminable. 
123 


124  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

So  far  as  it  had  any  ideas,  they  were  warnings  to  the 
women  to  repent  and  believe  —  the  women,  because 
the  seven  men  other  than  himself  were  evidently 
saints.  On  he  went,  and  on  and  on,  more  and  more 
dolorous.  At  the  end  of  his  speech  he  started  off 
on  a  long  prayer,  and  at  the  end  of  the  prayer 
began  a  horrible  caricature  of  singing  a  hymn,  which 
he  sang  solo,  and  only  stopped  after  he  had  both 
missed  the  tune,  and  forgotten  the  words.  One  or 
two  other  lamentable  prayers  were  made,  and  that 
deplorable  prayer-meeting  was  at  an  end.  There  are 
doubtless  many  other  such  cases.  Are  not  the  author- 
ities of  a  church  greatly  at  fault  where  such  misguided 
but  well-meaning  brethren  are  not  silenced,  and  kept 
silent,  in  the  prayer-meeting  ? " 

This  was  followed  by  another  article  the  week  after, 
which  showed  that  editor  Gray  was  more  fortunate 
in  the  next  prayer-meeting  that  he  struck  : 

"  We  gave  a  description,"  said  he,  "  of  a  prayer- 
meeting  in  which  were  one  prayer-meeting  killer,  seven 
other  brethren,  and  fifty-six  ladies,  and  mentioned  that 
the  affair  was  not  very  enjoyable.  We  have  discovered 
another  of  a  character  very  different.  There  were  about 
a  hundred  present,  of  whom  not  over  two-thirds  were 
ladies.  Where  the  brethren  are  not  out-numbered  by 
the  woman  over  two  to  one,  there  should  be  no  com- 


TYPICAL   PRAYER-MEETINGS.  I25 

plaint  made  of  their  lack  of  interest  in  spiritual  things. 
Well,  in  this  prayer-meeting  there  was  not  the  first 
syllable  of  prayer-meeting  cant  or  formality.  The  pas- 
tor took  his  seat  and  a  hymn  was  sung.  He  then 
said  that  this  was  to  be  a  voluntary  meeting  through- 
out, and  asked  from  each  one  present  a  text  of  Scrip- 
ture which  was  held  as  specially  precious.  Promises, 
precepts,  doctrines  concerning  Christ  and  Christian 
duty  were  quoted  by  men,  women  and  youth,  with  no 
undue  haste,  but  with  no  delay.  The  pastor  made 
comment  on  each  text — sometimes  using  not  more 
than  three  words  in  referring  to  the  pith  of  the  Scrip- 
ture idea.  After  a  time  a  hymn  was  volunteered,  and 
then  a  brief  prayer  which  followed  in  the  line  of  thought 
suggested  by  the  text.  Then  came  more  Scripture  sen- 
tences. It  was  observable  that  the  text  followed  lead- 
ing thoughts,  one  text  suggesting  another.  The  meet- 
ing was  closed  by  a  few  appropriate  remarks  by  the 
pastor  and  a  hymn  volunteered  by  one  of  the  com- 
pany. The  most  alert  interest  prevailed  from  first  to 
last.  There  was  not  a  moment  wasted,  nor  one  in 
which  the  pleasing  and  varied  movement  of  thought, 
prayer  and  singing,  flagged  or  dragged.  It  would 
require  a  minister  of  extraordinary  powers  in  the  pul- 
pit to  hold  attention  so  closely,  and  afford  at  once 
so  much  profit  and  pleasure." 


126  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

By  this  time  his  paper  had  got  to  Schenectady,  and 
as  is  supposable,  called  forth  a  spirited  rejoinder.  Dr. 
Gray,  however,  as  he  always  does,  rose  equal  to  the 
occasion,  and  kindly  planted  a  few  blows  upon  the 
layman's  letter,  by  way  of  improvement.  Both  are 
now  given  as  they  originally  appeared  : 

"  That  Prayer-meeting  at  Schenectady. 

"  In  glancing  over  your  issue  of  the  5th,  my  eye 
rested  upon  a  paragraph  in  which  you  pay  your  re- 
spects, somewhat  severely,  it  strikes  me,  to  this  an- 
cient and  time-honored  burgh,  and  also  to  a  prayer- 
meeting  into  which  you  found  your  way.  Without 
stopping  to  criticise  your  remarks  upon  our  city,  cal- 
culated as  they  are,  to  give  a  stranger  not  only  an  un- 
favorable but  a  decidedly  erroneous  view  of  its  gen- 
eral appearance,  permit  me  a  word  or  two  upon  your 
remarks  upon  the  prayer-meeting  referred  to.  In  the 
first  place,  we  do  not  question  the  correctness  of  the 
statement  concerning  the  number  present,  which  is 
placed  definitely  at  sixty-four,  namely  eight  men  and 
fifty-six  woman.  In  no  other  way  could  this  result 
have  been  reached  but  by  careful,  conscientious  count- 
ing. To  have  enhanced  the  interest  connected  with 
this  important  statement,  the  number  of  children 
present   (if  any),  of  each   sex,    should  also  have  been 


TYPICAL  PRAYER-MEETINGS.  127 

mentioned,  as  the  question  will  possibly  for  years 
to  come,  plague  the  minds  of  the  readers  of  The 
Interior:  Do  or  do  not  children,  as  a  rule,  form  a 
part  of  the  audience  of  a  Schenectady  prayer-meet- 
ing ?  particularly  in  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  denomina- 
tion. Such  an  omission  is  unfortunate.  On  one  point, 
however,  you  are  more  precise.  You  state  that  'an 
old  brother  addressed  the  meeting.'  This  is  true,  and 
if  your  writer  were  as  intimately  acquainted  with  him 
as  one  of  those  whom  he  addressed,  his  strictures,  we 
are  very  sure,  would  have  been  tinctured  with  more  of 
that  charity  so  highly  commended  by  St.  Paul.  The 
'  brother'  alluded  to,  has  passed  his  fourscore  and  four, 
and  although  the  weight  of  so  great  an  age  begins  to 
press  heavily  upon  him,  his  heart  still  beats  strong 
and  warm  for  the  cause  of  his  Master,  whom  he  has 
so  long  served ;  and  for  his  much-loved  church.  Re- 
siding as  he  does  at  a  distance  from  the  city,  it  is  but 
seldom  that  he  attends  an  evening  meeting,  perhaps 
three  or  four  times  in  a  twelve-month.  Is  it  strange, 
then,  that  when  he  is  able  to  come,  he  feels  an  earnest 
desire  to  perform  what  he  feels  to  be  a  sacred  duty. 
The  evidences  of  his  failing  mind  only  serve  to  win 
to  him  still  more  closely,  those  who  have  learned  to 
love  and  venerate  the  aged  disciple.  His  voice,  in 
sons:  or  exhortation  we  know  will   be  heard  in  its  ac- 


128  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

customed  place  not  many  times  in  the  future,  for  it 
will  soon  be  hushed  in  death.  Because  he  '  misses  the 
tune,'  or  '  forgets  the  words,'  of  one  of  the  hymns 
he  learned  in  his  younger  days,  shall  he  be  silenced, 
as  your  writer  unfeelingly  suggests  ?  Because  he  tells 
the  same  old  story  two  or  three  times  a  year,  shall  the 
privilege  to  do  so,  which  he  so  highly  prizes,  be  denied 
him  ?  What,  sort  of  an  estimate  would  any  of  us  be 
likely  to  put  upon  the  Christianity  of  the  early  church 
if  the  venerable  apostle  John,  after  his  oft-repeated 
injunction,  '  Little  children,  love  one  another,'  had  re- 
ceived from  the  elders  the  reproof,  '  Misguided  brother, 
your  remarks  are  not  edifying.  You  had  better  re- 
frain from  speaking  in  meeting.'  Our  brother's  evi- 
dent sincerity  and  trembling  voice  made,  it  seems,  no 
appeal  to  the  sympathy  of  a  fellow  disciple.  But  may 
we  ask  why,  in  a  gathering  of  '  two  or  three  '  met  in 
the  name  of  the  Head  of  the  church,  did  not  our 
brother  from  Chicago  feel  it  a  privilege  to  bear  his 
'testimony.'  If  the  meeting  was  cold,  perhaps  a  word, 
or  prayer,  uttered  by  him,  might  have  fanned  the 
smouldering  embers  into  an  ardent  flame. 

"Layman." 
"remarks. 

"  Such  an  aged  saint  as  our  correspondent  describes 
'  has  a  right  to  tolerance,  to  almost  any  extent,  of  the 


TYPICAL  PRAYER-MEETINGS,  I29 

infirmities  which  come  witli  great  age.  The  writer 
did  not  suspect  an  age  so  great,  and  being  a  stranger, 
casually  happening  into  the  meeting,  could  only  sketch 
it  in  the  light  that  there  appeared.  It  was  furthest 
from  his  purpose  to  attack  any  one.  The  prayer-meet- 
ing was  but  a  typical  one,  though  perhaps  extreme, 
of  a  class ;  and  it  was  employed  merely  as  an  illustra- 
tion. The  fact  remains,  however,  that  our  good  con- 
tributor is  displeased  that  we  should  refer  in  terms 
not  commendatory  to  a  prayer-meeting  in  which  only 
one-seventh  of  those  present  were  men,  and  in  which 
the  services  were  gloomy  and  depressing,  and  not  by 
any  means  only  because  a  good  old  man  indulged 
in  a  talk  which  was  not  interesting.  Such  prayer-meet- 
ings need  stirring  up.  If  they  will  not  bear  a  photo- 
graphic description  in  a  newspaper,  how  will  they  bear 
the  continual  review  of  the  Master  .?  " 

I  followed  these  pieces  with  a  letter  to  Dr.  Gray 
which  was  published   on   July   3d,  under    the  caption 

"  Other  Schenectady s." 

"  I  carefully  laid  aside  that  article  on  the  Schenectady 
prayer-meeting  which  lately  appeared  in  The  Interior. 
I  knew  that  it  was  foreordained  to  become  famous. 
A  second  article,  the  week  following,  to  describe  a 
meeting  in  which  '  there  was  not  the  first  syllable  of 


130  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS, 

prayer-meeting  cant  or  formality  '  only  confirmed  me 
in  that  opinion.  That  article  was  also  marked  and 
laid  aside.  To-day  comes  The  Interior,  with  article 
number  three,  entitled.  '  That  prayer-meeting  at  Sche- 
nectady.' '  I  told  you  so.'  That,  too,  is  marked  and 
laid  aside.  And  now  that  the  ball  is  fairly  got  in 
motion  I  suppose  other  contributions  in  the  same  line 
are  in  order.  Here  is  mine  :  I  was  narrating  the  spicy 
contents  of  articles  one  and  two  to  a  retired  minister 
of  our  city,  as  introductory  to  the  reading  of  number 
three,  'Well,' said  he,  'that  reminds  me  of  a  prayer- 
meeting  I  went  to  conduct,  by  invitation,  in  this  city 
not  long  ago.  When  I  got  to  the  meeting  I  found 
but  one  man  present ;  all  the  rest  were  women.  I 
did  not  know  him,  but,  seeing  him  there,  I  took  him 
to  be  a  Christian,  and  called  on  him  to  pray.  He 
responded.  Presently  another  man  came  in,  and  think- 
ing that  if  he  was  not  a  Christian  he  would  not  be 
there,  I  likewise  called  on  him.  He  too  offered  prayer.' 
Now,  the  full  force  of  his  three-men  prayer-meeting 
story  is  only  brought  out  in  connection  with  the  fact 
that  the  good  brother  who  undertook  to  lead  the  meet- 
ing had  suffered  a  partial  stroke  of  paralysis  while  on 
a  visit  to  Missouri  over  a  year  ago,  and  it  so  happened 
on  this  particular  night  that  his  tongue  somewhat  failed 
'  him   and   refused   to   articulate   distinctly.     And   now, 


TYPICAL   PRAYER-MEETINGS.  I3I 

that  I  am  speaking  about  him,  I  may  say  to  the  great 
praise  and  honor  of  this  retired  minister,  who  has 
preached  the  Gospel  over  half  a  century-,  that  though 
he  is  nearly  an  octogenarian,  yet  he  is  as  regular  and 
prompt  in  his  attendance  on  Sabbath  and  prayer-meet- 
ing services  as  the  clock.  If  he  is  not  present,  I  know 
in  advance  he  is  sick,  or  conducting  a  meeting  for 
somebody  else.  What  a  continuous  sermon  his  ex- 
ample is  preaching  ! " 

There  is  a  type  of  another  meeting  not  far  outside 
of  the  State  of  New  York.  A  young  girl,  visiting  a 
church  after  an  absence  of  five  years,  wrote  back  to 
her  father,  who  had  been  its  pastor,  that  she  found  the 
prayer-meeting  just  where  it  was  when  they  left.  Its 
members  sat  in  just  the  same  seats,  in  the  same  parts 
of  the  house,  the  same  hymns  were  sung,  the  same 
brethren  repeated  their  well-conned  prayers  of  the  days 
past,  and  the  story-telling  brethren  had  just  the  same 
reminiscences  and  experiences  to  relate  that  she  had 
become  familiar  with  half  a  decade  of  years  ago.  Now 
it  is  self-evident  that  nothing  else  in  the  world  than 
duty  (what  a  grand  thing  to  see  a  life  shaped  and  con- 
trolled by  duty)  keeps  up  the  attendance  of  meetings 
like  these,  as  juiceless  as  a  dried-up  orange.  But  is 
there  not  a  better  way  ? 

In  closing  this  chapter,  and  as  introductory  to  the 


132  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

one  that  shall  follow,  I  will  give  an  account  of  a  minis- 
ter's visit  to  a  neighboring  prayer-meeting,  which  was 
published  in  The  Preacher  and  Homilitic  Mojithly,  Jan., 
1879,  and  this  account  will  show  that  the  prayer-meet- 
ing service  is  as  difficult  of  management  as  any  con- 
nected with  the  church. 

To  the  editor,  Rev.  jf.  K.  Funk — I  enjoyed  the  lux- 
ury of  attending  a  prayer-meeting  a  few  evenings  since, 
outside  of  my  own  church.  It  is  a  celebrated  one, 
known  throughout  our  city  for  its  size  and  vigor. 
Many  hundred  conversions  are  reported  as  having 
taken  place  in  it  during  the  past  few  years.  As  on  this 
evening  I  held  no  meeting,  I  thought  I  would  go  down 
and  study  the  secret  of  my  neighbor's  success  in  the 
management  of  his  prayer  services.  I  was  twice  sur- 
prised during  my  hour's  stay. 

First,  I  saw  nearly  half  the  large  audience  slip  out 
of  the  room  during  the  first  quarter  hour  of  the  exer- 
cise, and  this  because  the  pastor  was  not  present.  In 
vain  the  leader,  who  proved  a  good  man  for  the  place,  re- 
minded the  audience  that  "  One,  greater  than  our  pastor 
has  promised  to  meet  with  us."  Either,  thought  I,  that 
retiring  audience  did  not  believe  the  promise,  or  did 
not  come  to  meet  that  greater  One.  In  either  case, 
there  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  fatal  mistake  in  the  teach- 


TYPICAL   PRAYER-MEETINGS.  I33 

ings  those  people  had  been  accustomed  to  hear.  No 
congregation  who  gather  in  the  regular  place  for  prayer 
once  a  week,  rightly  instructed,  will  desert  the  meeting 
because  the  leader  they  expected  is  not  present.  A 
crowd  is  not  sure  proof  of  success.  Even  conversions 
are  but  people  starting  right ;  if  the  work  ends  with 
starting,  it  is  a  miserable  failure. 

Secondly,  I  was  again  surprised  at  an  onslaught  one 
of  the  speakers  made  on  my  favorite  revival  hymn, 

"  Come,  humble  sinner,  in  whose  breast,"  etc. 

Said  he,  "  That  hymn  sends  a  shiver  all  through  me 
whenever  I  hear  it  read  or  sung,  for  it  expresses  a 
doubt  of  a  repentant  sinner's  acceptance  with  God. 
The  sinner  in  the  hymn  is  represented  as  approaching 
God  distrustingly.  He  lacks  faith,  the  very  essential 
of  acceptance.  Then,  in  the  last  stanza,  he  is  made  to 
express  joy  at  the  thought  of  meeting  destruction  while 
seeking  divine  mercy  : 

"  That  were  to  die  (delightful  thought)  ! 
As  sinners  never  die." 

As  if  that  would  be  any  satisfaction  to  a  ruined  soul  ! 
Really  that  hymn,  after  that  speech,  did  not  seem  so 
faultless  to  me  as  it  did  before.  But  is  the  prayer- 
meeting  a  place  for  criticism,  even  though  it  be  of  the 
above  nature  ?  A  Clergyman. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Prayer-Meeting  a  Growth. 

IT  is  not  to  be  looked  for  that  our  prayer-meetings 
shall  become  all  of  a  sudden  just  what  they  ought 
to  be  in  spiritual  profit  and  attractive  power.  The 
model  prayer-meeting  is  a  plant  of  slow  growth.  It  is  • 
not  a  century  plant,  neither  is  it  an  annual ;  but  it  takes 
years  to  bring  it  to  maturity  and  full  fruitfulness. 

The  pastor  and  the  people  need  to  entertain  similar 
ideas  about  the  prayer-meeting,  and  its  true  place  in  the 
church,  that  thus  they  may  co-operate,  and  zealously 
work  together  for  their  attainment.  For  instance,  if 
the  people  think  that  the  prayer-meeting  ought  to  be  an 
'f  evangelistic  service,"  and  the  pastor  thinks  that  it 
ought  mainly  to  be  a  meeting  for  spiritual  conference 
and  edification,  or  vice  versa ;  then  it  is  hardly  to  be 
looked  for  that  they  shall  develop  much  harmony  and 
enthusiasm  in  seeking  their  ideals.  But  if  pastor  and 
people  can  unite  on  the  same  ideals,  it  may  reasonably 
be  expected  that  they  will  do  all  within  their  power  to 
realize  them. 

There  is,  too,  in  every  church,  a  greater  amount  of 
134 


THE   PRAYER-MEETING   A   GROWTH.  135 

receptive  gifts  than  of  donative.  There  are  more 
habitual  hsteners,  than  habitual  participants.  There  is 
a  rich  capacity  for  song,  and  speech,  and  prayer,  that 
lies  dormant  in  the  church.  It  will  take  time  to  de- 
velop this  wealth  of  resources  in  the  church,  and  bring 
it  into  efficient  service.  Dr.  James  B.  Shaw,  pastor  of 
the  Brick  Church,  Rochester,  has  given  this  excellent 
advice  to  the  members  of  his  church,  "  Consent  to  be 
habitually  silent,  only  after  making  the  most  strenuous 
and  repeated  endeavors  to  acquire  self-possession. 
You  may  be  a  very  useful  Christian,  and  yet  be  unheard 
here,  but  if  you  can  overcome  your  infirmity,  it  will 
greatly  increase  your  usefulness."  The  Rev.  J.  K. 
Funk,  editor  of  T/ic  Preacher  and  Homilitic  Monthly, 
reports  Mr.  Beecher  as  saying,  *'  The  good  prayer- 
meeting  is  the  result  of  years  of  patient  work.  Our 
prayer-meeting  in  Plymouth  Church  for  the  first  five 
years  of  my  labor  amounted  to  little  ;  at  the  end  of  the 
next  five  years  it  did  not  amount  to  much.  But  then 
my  work  began  to  tell.  I  had  to  train  up  men  in  my 
idea  of  a  prayer-meeting." 

Christian  experience  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  us,  to  which  testimony  should  be  given  in  the  prayer- 
meeting,  for  the  profit  and  instruction  of  the  household 
of  faith.     Now,  it  is  evident  the  bringing  into  efficient 


136  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

service  this  talent,  will  of  necessity  add  to  the  interest, 
the  instruction,  the  spiritual  refreshment,  and  the  at- 
tractive power  of  the  prayer-meeting. 

But  it  is  needful,  also,  to  instruct  the  people  in  the 
elements  of  a  good  prayer-meeting.  Some  are  apt  to 
speak  too  long,  or  to  pray  at  too  great  length,  and  thus 
to  repeat  themselves  and  become  prosy,  as  well  as  de- 
prive others  of  the  privilege  of  taking  part.  In  the 
interview  referred  to  above,  Mr.  Beech  er  said,  "  The 
prayer-meeting  is  for  the  edification  of  a  great  many 
more  than  those  who  pray.  I  know  just  what  kind  of  a 
prayer-meeting  I  want.  When  one  talks  or  prays  too 
long,  I  manage,  usually  without  giving  offence,  to  drop 
an  effective  hint.  I  sometimes  say,  as  the  long-winded 
brother  is  taking  his  seat,  that  was  a  good  prayer  —  the 
first  five  minutes.  If  one  is  speaking  too  long,  and  has 
got  into  a  rut  and  can't  get  out,  which  often  happens  in 
a  prayer-meeting,  I  put  a  question  to  him  to  divert  his 
thoughts,  and  am  answering  my  own  question  before  he 
is  aware  of  it.  Then  I  have  got  the  reins  again. 
There  must  be  no  dullness.  Better  have  dullness  in 
the  regular  Sunday  service  than  in  the  prayer-meeting. 
I  prepare  specially  for  these  meetings.  I  usually  talk 
without  getting  up  off  my  chair,  in  an  off-handed  man- 
ner, on  some  questions  which  involve  religious  experi- 


THE  PRAYER-MEETING  A   GROWTH.  !37 

ence.  I  seek  to  answer  questions  —  encourage  the 
asking  of  questions  which  have  to  do  with  personal 
experience.  In  this  way  tlie  meetings  are  instructive 
and  inspiring." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

How  Shall  we  get  Members  to  take  Part? 

PERHAPS  too  high  an  estimate  is  placed  upon 
speaking  gifts.  The  gift  of  eloquence  is  a  re- 
markable power  which  ambitious  men  earnestly  covet, 
and  but  few  possess.  A  speaker  at  the  bar,  on  the 
rostrum,  in  the  political  arena,  or  upon  the  floors  of 
legislative  chambers,  may  speak  for  applause,  and 
receive  it,  and  be  stimulated  by  it  to  higher  efforts  ; 
but  such  influences  and  actions  find  no  place  in  the 
room  for  public  prayer  and  social  praise.  Are  Chris- 
tians, then,  to  make  no  efforts  to  speak,  but  content- 
edly remain  silent  ?  No.  Their  speaking  should  not  be 
a  mere  duty,  but  a  pleasure  and  privilege,  rendered  such 
by  a  fulness  of  love  and  heart,  out  of  whose  abundance 
prayer,  praise,  and  testimony  shall  spring  on  winged 
words.  Why  should  not  the  motives  which  prompt 
men  to  praise  God,  and  to  speak  and  pray  when  the 
church  is  gathered  together  in  the  name  of  Christ,  be 
still  higher  than  the  ambition  for  power  and  applause } 
It  is,  and  would  be  so  esteemed,  if  our  lives  were  more 
holy,  and  our  efforts  were  more  judiciously  and  regu- 
larly put  forth. 
138 


HOW  SHALL  WE  GET   MEMBERS  TO  TAKE   PART.     1 39 

Inasmuch,  then,  as  those  motives  are  absent  which 
stimulate  men  to  seek  possession  of  the  speaking  gifts_ 
in  other  departments  of  Hfe,  how  shall  we  get  men  to 
take  part,  when  in  more  than  a  majority  of  cases, 
speaking  is  to  them  a  heavy  duty,  and  no  pleasure  ? 
The  attendance  may  be  good,  fully  one-half  of  the  whole 
membership,  or  even  more,  and  yet  the  number  of  those 
accustomed  to  speak  and  pray  may  be  distressingly 
small. 

Now  it  may  be  that  there  are  cases  where  some  pro- 
fessors live  such  lives  —  in  a  backslidden  state  —  as 
to  totally  unfit  them  for  taking  any  part  in  exercises  of 
a  holy  nature,  unless  they  act  the  part  of  hypocrites. 
The  lips  of  some,  it  may  be,  are  closed  by  the  variance 
between  their  accepted  creeds  and  daily  life.  Such 
need  to  be  revived,  to  have  the  evil  spirit  cast  out,  and 
their  tongues  to  be  touched  with  a  live  coal  from  off 
the  altar,  and  then  their  lips  will  be  opened  to  praise 
God,  and  thank  Him  for  His  marvellous  mercy.  But  I 
would  be  far  from  saying  that  this  is  true  of  all  the 
silent  ones  in  our  prayer-meetings.  By  no  means. 
Some  very  excellent  and  useful  Christians,  from  peculi- 
arities of  temperament,  have  never  attempted  to  speak ; 
or  having  attempted  it,  are  utterly  discouraged ;  and 
yet  to  the  praise  of  such,  be  it  said,  they  are  still  reg- 
ular attendants  upon  the  prayer-meeting. 


/ 


I40  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

But  how  can  we  assist  those  who  ought  to  take  part, 
and  have  no  sufficient  reasons  for  permanent  silence,  so 
that  they  shall  become  serviceable  in  this  department 
of  Christian  life  ?  A  few  suggestions  only  are  here 
offered  in  this  direction. 

When  members  are  first  converted,  that  is  the  golden 
moment  in  which  to  urge  them  to  speak  of  Christ  and 
for  Christ,  and  to  bless  God  out  of  such  fulness  of 
heart  as  His  own  Spirit  has  produced.  And  it  will  be 
wise,  I  think,  for  the  leader,  after  such  testimony  on 
their  part,  to  see  them  and  counsel  with  them  in  a 
private  and  friendly  way,  so  that  if  they  are  at  all  dis- 
couraged, and  determined  ever  after  to  keep  silent,  the 
nature  of  their  difficulties  may  be  examined  into,  and 
their  imaginary  obstacles  removed.  Some  of  these 
hindrances  have  been  presented  in  the  previous  volume, 
as  well  as  some  hints  suggested  in  a  chapter  on  "  Helps 
to  Speaking  in  Public."  You  should  counsel  those 
who  have  taken  part  for  the  first  time,  not  to  be  dis- 
couraged by  grammatical  mistakes,  nor  repeat  to  cor- 
rect them.  Bishop  Simpson's  rule  is  excellent ;  not  to 
stop  for  correction  unless  something  false  or  utterly 
vicious  has  been  said.  But  if  something  of  the  latter 
kind  has  been  spoken,  of  course  it  ought  to  be  cor- 
rected. Thus,  I  think,  that  a  minister  whom  I  heard 
in  prayer,  by  a  slip  of  the  tongue,    say  —  if  at  all  con- 


HOW  SHALL    WE  GET   MEMBERS   TO   TAKE  PART.     14I 

scious  of  it  —  that  he  praised  God  because  He  had 
turned  us  "  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power 
of  God  unto  Satan,"  ought  not  to  have  permitted  the 
last  clause  to  remain  uncorrected  ;  but  all  mistakes  of 
a  grammatical  or  figurative  nature  may  be  safely 
allowed  to  pass  until  greater  freedom  and  fluency  shall 
give  a  better  and  clearer  use  of  language.  And  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  being  over  fastidious.  Grammatical 
proprieties  and  rhetorical  elegancies  are  poor  offsets 
for  zeal  and  whole  heartedness.  "  We  ought,"  says 
Spurgeon,  "  to  leave  room  for  enthusiasts,  even  if  they 
violate  every  rule  of  grammar,  A  grand  blundering, 
hammering,  thundering,  whole-hearted  Boanerges,  is 
worth  a  dozen  prim,  reverend  gentlemen,  meek  as  milk 
and  water,  and  soft  as  boiled  parsnips." 

But  a  very  useful  answer  to  the  subject  of  our  chap- 
ter, I  have  found  to  consist  in  arranging  for  a  meeting 
in  which  a  large  number  of  those  who  have  not  taken 
part  previously,  are  urged  to  speak,  and  be  sure  not  to 
use  more  than  two  or  three  minutes.  Tell  them  if 
they  go  beyond  three  minutes,  you  will  be  obliged  to 
stop  them,  and  this  for  the  evident  reason  that  they 
must  not  trespass  on  the  time  that  belongs  to  others. 
And  again,  at  the  beginning  of  the  meeting,  announce 
it  as  a  rule  that  no  one  is  expected  or  will  be  permitted 


142  HOW  TO   CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

to  consume  more  than  three  minutes  ;  and  let  those 
who  have  been  previously  urged  to  speak  understand 
that  they  have  perfect  liberty  to  stop  before  their  three 
minutes  are  up.  Remarks  two  minutes  long  shall 
have  the  preference  to  four  minutes.  The  shorter  the 
better.  A  man  is  wonderfully  helped,  when  he  feels 
in  advance  that  if  his  thoughts  and  his  words  fail 
him,  he  need  not  beat  about  the  bush  in  that  terrible 
ordeal  of  an  attempt  at  a  long  address ;  but  may  stop 
at  once,  and  shield  by  silence  what  would  otherwise 
be  a  grieved  and  a  wounded  heart.  It  will  be  helpful 
to  them,  also,  if  each  one  has  a  text  of  Scripture  — 
not  all  using  the  same  text  —  on  which  to  found  his 
brief  remarks. 

The  following  plan  is  given  in  illustration  of  this 
method,  and  is  simply  the  account  of  an  actual  meet- 
ing. The  subject  is,  "Result  of  Abiding  in  Christ," 
as  contained  in  the  passage  found  in  St.  John's  Gospel 
fifteenth  chapter,  from  the  fifth  to  the  sixteenth  verses, 
inclusive.  The  hymns  are  selected  from  "Gospel 
Hymns  and  Sacred  Songs,"  and  are  designed  to  be 
in  harmony,  so  far  as  that  is  possible,  with  the  sub- 
jects which  they  follow.  If  ^each  part  in  this  plan 
takes  about  three  minutes,  the  length  of  the  meeting 
will    be    an  hour,   and   if    less   time   is   consumed    in 


HOW  SHALL  WE  GET   MEMBERS  TO  TAKE   PART.     I43 

the  singing,  it  can  be  filled  with  more  prayer,  so  that 
in  no  case  need  the  assembly  be  kept  beyond  the 
hour  : 

1.  Opening  Hymn  —  No.  25. 

"  We  praise  Thee,  O  God  !  for  the  Son  of  Thy  Love, 
For  Jesus  who  died,  and  is  now  gone  above." 

2.  Scripture  Lesson  —  Psalm  146th,  and  prayer  by  the  pastor 

or  leader  of  the  meeting. 

3.  Hymn  —  No.  48,  verses  i,  2. 

"  Saviour,  more  than  life  to  me, 
I  am  clinging,  clinging  close  to  Thee." 

4.  First  Result  of  AmoiNG  in   Christ  —  Fruitfulness,  John 

15  :  5,  6  and  8.    (Remarks  not  to  exceed  three  minutes.) 

5.  Hymn  —  No.  104. 

"  So  let  our  lips  and  lives  express, 
The  Holy  Gospel  we  profess." 

6.  Second  Result  —  Prayer  is  answered.    John  15:  7. 

7.  Hymn  —  No.  93. 

"More  holiness  give  me, 
More  strivings  within." 

8.  Prayer. 

9.  Third  Result  —  Love.    John  15:  9,  12. 

10.  Hymn  —  No.  46,  verses  i,  2  and  4. 

"  Oh  sing  of  His  mighty  love." 

11.  Fourth  Result  —  Obedience.    John  15:   10. 

12.  Hymn  —  No.  26.     "  Something  for  Jesus."    Verses  3  and  4. 

"  Give  me  a  faithful  heart  —  likeness  to  Thee  — 
That  each  departing  day  henceforth  may  see." 

13.  Prayer. 

14.  Fifth  Result  —  Joy.    John  15:  11,  12  and  13. 


144  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

15.  Hymn — No.  100. 

"  My  heart  that  was  heavy  and  sad, 
Was  made  to  rejoice  and  be  glad." 

16.  Sixth  Result  —  Fellowship.    John  15:  14,  15. 

17.  Hymn  —  No.  114;  verses  i,  2  and  3. 

"  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 
Our  hearts  in  Christian  love  ; 
The  fellowship  of  kindred  minds 
Is  like  to  that  above." 
iS.  Seventh  Result — Service.    John  15:  16. 

19.  Hymn  —  No.  122. 

"  Work,  for  the  night  is  coming ; 

Work  through  the  morning  hours; 
Work  while  the  dew  is  sparkling  ; 

Work,  'mid  springing  flowers  ; 
Work  when  the  day  grows  brighter, 

Work  in  the  glowing  sun  ; 
Work,  for  the  night  is  coming. 
When  man's  work  is  done." 

20.  Prayer. 

21.  doxologv  — 

"Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow; 
Praise  him,  all  creatures  here  below ; 
Praise  him  above,  ye  heavenly  host ; 
Praise  Father,  Son  and   Holy  Ghost." 

Benediction. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Monthly  Concert  for  Missions. 

THE  work  of  evangelizing  the  world  is  so  im- 
portant, its  duty  so  pressing,  and  its  influence 
so  various,  that  the  monthly  meeting  for  missions 
should  be  made  as  attractive  and  interesting  as  pos- 
sible. It  was  the  command  of  the  risen  Saviour  to 
His  disciples  that  they  should  preach  the  Gospel  in 
Jerusalem,  in  all  Judea,  in  Samaria,  and  to  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth.  And  for  this  particular  work 
they  were  to  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
had  come  upon  them.  In  obedience  to  the  command 
of  the  Master  to  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father, 
they  continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  suppli- 
cation until  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come, 
"when  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave 
them  utterance," 

And  for  the  successful   conduct   of    this  work   the 

church  of   to-day   equally  needs   the   gift   of   tongues 

and  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit ;  the  gift  of  tongues  as 

acquired    by  the  missionaries  through  years  of  study 

145 


146  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

to  qualify  them  to  speak  in  the  various  languages 
wherewith  the  children  of  men  express  their  thoughts, 
and  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  in  order  to  make  the 
telling  of  the  "  old,  old  story  of  Jesus  and  His  love," 
a  savor  of  life  unto  life  to  all  that  hear.  "The  church 
has  received  her  marching  orders,"  as  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  said,  "  and  cannot  help  herself."  The  meet- 
ing of  the  church,  on  stated  occasions,  to  consider  the 
cause  of  missions,  its  encouragements  and  hindrances, 
and  to  pray  for  success  in  its  promotion,  is  a  duty 
which  lies  in  the  line  of  this  command,  and  is  so  es- 
sential in  its  nature  that  her  own  life  and  spiritual 
prosperity  at  home  are  intimately  connected  with  it. 

The  monthly  meeting  of  the  church  for  prayer,  in 
behalf  of  missions  will  have  an  important  influence 
upon  the  work  at  home.  It  will  enlarge  the  mind, 
and  enrich  the  heart.  To  go  outside  of  the  narrow 
limits  of  our  own  church  walls,  and  to  take  in  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  surrounding  community,  is  well 
'^  and  wise  ;  and  then  to  pass  from  there  to  the  wants 
of  several  cities  until  we  include  a  state,  and  from  a 
single  state  to  include  the  wants  of  all  the  states  in 
a  great  Union  is  wise  and  well,  but  finally  to  pass 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  our  own  beloved  land,  and 
then  to  take  in  the  wants  of  all  lands,  until  the  globe 
.    has  been  encircled  is  wisest  and  best,  and  as  demon- 


MONTHLY  CONCERT   FOR  MISSIONS.  I47 

stratad  by  the  history  of  the  church  is  most  fruitful 
in  spiritual  results.  But  our  duty  does  not  go  beyond 
this  world.  It  does  not  extend  to  Venus  or  to  Mars  — 
to  inferior  or  superior  planets  —  but  it  does  include 
the  world.  And  the  Christian  Church,  loyal  to  Christ, 
should  be  eager  and  anxious  to  take  the  whole  world 
into  the  arms  of  her  faith,  prayer  and  endeavor,  and 
lift  it  up  to   God. 

The  influence  of  the  concert  for  prayer,  is  equally 
marked  upon  mission  fields.  Missionaries  encounter 
many  and  peculiar  difficulties  in  the  prosecution  of 
their  work.  Prayer  and  sympathy  help  them  in  vari- 
ous ways.  It  may  be  worth  our  while  to  see  how  the 
missionaries  themselves  regard  this  matter  ;  for  they 
are  qualified  to  speak  of  its  influence  upon  them  and 
their  work.  The  Rev.  B,  Labaree  gives  the  following 
as  reasons,  "  Why  we  ask  you  to  pray  for  Persia  "  : 

"  I.  Because  of  special  encouragements  in  the  past 
history  of  this  mission.  Many  remarkable  revivals, 
hundreds  of  souls  in  whom  the  new  life  in  Christ  has 
been  begun  ;  numerous  evangelical  churches  as  beacon 
fires  of  the  Gospel  in  Oroomiah,  Tabreez,  Hamadan ; 
some  hopeful  converts  and  multitudes  of  inquirers 
among  Mussulmans  —  all  these  are  the  fruits  of  the 
church's  prayer  for  Persia. 

"  2.  Because  of    special    discouragements  and   ob- 


148  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

stacles ;  such  as  (1)  the  bigotry  of  the  masses  and  the 
misrule  and  oppression  of  the  governing  classes ;  (2) 
the  danger  of  persecution  and  even  death  to  Mussulman 
converts ;  (3)  the  deceitfulness  and  hypocrisy  of  the 
Persian  character,  greatly  embarrassing  us  in  our  labors 
for  Mussulmans  ;  (4)  the  activity  and  influence  of  the 
Papists  and  other  foes. 

"3.  Because  the  influence  of  Christian  Governments 
in  Persia,  is  less  than  in  Mohammaden  lands.  We 
are  the  more  shut  up  to  direct  dependence  on  Divine 
Power. 

"  4.  Because  we  see  how  prayer  inclined  a  king  of 
ancient  Persia  to  promote  the  building  of  Jerusalem's 
walls.  May  not  that  same  might  move  the  present 
rulers  to  aid  in  building  our  modern  Zion  ?  We  es- 
pecially want  their  non-interference  in  erecting  our  new 
seminary. 

"  Pray,  too  for  the  missionaries  and  native  preach- 
ers, that  we  may  all  be  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

Let  the  unbelieving  say  what  they  will  about  answer 
to  prayer,  the  church  knows  the  value  of  prayer  by  a 
precious  experience. 

"A  few  examples  will  be  given,"  says  the  Rev.  Hollis 
Read,  formerly  a  missionary  of  the  American  Board, 
"  where   prayer   seems   to  have  been   answered  on   a 


MONTHLY  CONCERT   FOR   MISSIONS.  149 

remote  part  of  the  globe,  on  the  very  day,  and  per- 
haps the  same  hour,  it  was  offered. 

"On  the  first  Monday  of  January,  1833,  there  was 
an  extraordinary  and  unaccountable  religious  move- 
ment on  the  minds  of  a  class  of  natives  who  had 
been  for  a  few  months  under  Christian  instruction  at 
Ahmednuggur.  The  writer,  then  the  only  missionary 
at  the  station,  invited  all  who  wished  to  be  Christians, 
to  meet  him  for  religious  conversation  and  inquiry, 
when,  to  his  surprise,  thirteen  responded  to  the  call, 
all,  apparently,  deeply  convicted  of  sin,  and  wishing 
to  be  pointed  to  the  Saviour.  The  number  was  in  a 
few  days  increased  to  sixteen,  most  of  whom  subse- 
quently became  members  of  the  church. 

" '  I  was  called  up  at  midnight,  on  the  first  Monday 
of  January,'  says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Spaulding  of  Ceylon, 
*  by  one  of  the  girls  of  the  Oodooville  school,  and 
informed  that  the  whole  school  was  assembled  in  the 
large  lecture-room,  for  prayer.  On  going  thither,  and 
seeing  all  present  to  hear  what  the  Lord  would  com- 
mand them,  I  found  them  in  a  most  interesting  state 
of  mind ;  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  great  re- 
vival of  religion  in  Ceylon.  Inquiring  how  this  thing 
originated,  I  found  the  larger  girls  (the  younger  ones 
having  retireS),  had  assembled  for  their  evening  prayer- 
meeting,  and   not  being  able  to  separate  at  the  usual 


150  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

hour,  the  interest  became  so  intense  that  one  after 
another  called  up  a  friend  to  share  in  the  good  feel- 
ing, till,  at  length,  the  whole  school   were  assembled.' 

"  The  first  Monday  of  January,  1838,  presented  a 
scene  of  thrilling  interest  at  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
At  the  rising  of  the  sun,  the  church  and  congregation 
at  Honolulu,  filling  one  of  the  largest  houses  of  wor- 
ship on  the  islands,  united  in  solemn  prayer  for  the 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  thence  fol- 
lowed a  series  of  protracted  meetings  throughout  the 
islands,  and  a  general  revival  of  religion  blessed  the 
entire  nation.  This  was  the  beginning  of  what  is 
known  as  '  the  great  revival.'  By  midsummer,  more 
than  five  thousand  had  been  received  into  the  church, 
and  two  thousand  four  hundred  stood  propounded  for 
membership.  Though  there  had  been  some  favorable 
indications  of  a  spiritual  movement  some  time  previous, 
and  the  preceding  Sabbath,  had  been  a  day  of  unusual 
interest  at  Honolulu,  yet  we  may  date  the  beginning 
of  the  great  revival  on  that  day.  Now  the  windows 
of  heaven  were  opened  and  the  refreshing  rain  came  ! 
and  as  the  fruits  of  the  remarkable  work  there  were 
gathered  with  the  churches,  (1838-40)  twenty  thousand 
persons;  and  more  than  three  thousand  remained  as 
candidates  for  admission.  "^ 

"  On   the  first  Monday  of  January,   1846,  two  of  the 


MONTHLY   CONCERT    FOR   MISSIONS.  151 

older  girls  in  Miss  Fisk's  school  at  Ooroomiah,  linger 
after  morning  prayers.  She  inquires  the  reason ;  finds 
they  feel  themselves  to  be  lost  sinners,  and  ask  that 
they  may  spend  the  day  in  retirement.  In  a  few  days 
they  are  rej  oicing  in  the  hope  of  sins  forgiven.  Five 
others  come  to  Miss  Fisk  the  same  day  and  ask  what 
they  shall  do  to  be  saved;  and,  with  no  knowledge 
of  what  had  taken  place  in  the  school,  a  considerable 
number  of  Mr.  Stoddard's  scholars  came  to  him  with 
the  same  inquiry.  From  this  hour  we  date  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  powerful  and  extensive  re- 
vival of  religion,  which  has  already  prevailed,  not  only 
in  the  two  seminaries,  but  the  city  of  Ooroomiah  and 
the  adjacent  villages,  and  has  spread  even  among 
the  mountains,  and  already  numbers  more  than  a 
hundred  and  fifty  converts  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  deep 
and  far-reaching  moral  influence  which  this  religious 
movement  has  produced  on  the  Nestorian  mind  in 
general,  and  the  conviction  of  the  power  of  evangelical 
truth.  Nor  was  this  all ;  just  two  years  before  (Mon- 
day, January,  1844,),  there  were  decisive  indications  of 
the  mighty  workings-  of  the  Spirit  at  the  same  station, 
producing  a  happy  effect  on  the  hearts  of  the  native 
Christians  and  missionaries,  but  resulting  in  the  conver- 
sion of  only  one  individual,  and  he  a  young  man  the 


152  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

most  unlikely  to  be  thus  affected.  But  he  afterwards 
became  a  most  efficient  helper  in  the  mission,  and, 
perhaps,  did  more  than  any  other  one,  to  prepare  the 
way  for  the  great  work  now  in  progress.  God  first 
prepares  his  instruments,  then  does  his  work. 

"On  the  same  day,  (1846),  the  Spirit  was  poured 
out  from  on  high,  upon  the  Choctaw  Indians.  A 
pleasant  state  of  things  existed  a  few  days  previous, 
but  on  Monday  (Jan.  5  th),  the  Spirit  came  down  in 
power,  and  a  mighty  work  began,  and  did  not  end  till 
more  than  two  hundred  were  gathered  into  the  church, 
which  did  not  number  before  over  seven  hundred. 
'Before  they  call,  I  will  answer,  and  while  they  are 
yet  speaking,  I  will  hear.'  " 

How,  then,  shall  we  make  the  Monthly  Concerts 
for  missions  so  interesting  and  attractive  that  the 
people  shall  always  come  to  them  with  a  feeling  of 
delight,  and  be  unwilling  to  have  them  unrepresented 
in  the  scheme  of  annual  topics  ?  I  will  give  some 
answers  that  have  proved  very  helpful  in  my  own 
church,  and  which  upon  correspondence  I  have  found 
to  be  equally  helpful  in  the  experience  of  other 
pastors  : 

I.  Solicit  annually  some  person,  or  persons,  to  re- 
present the  respective  mission  fields  for  whose  support 


MONTHLY   CONCERT   FOR   MISSIONS.  1 53 

your  church  is  enUsted,  and  let  these  keep  their 
fields  in  mind  during  the  year  and  solicit  and  treasure 
up  such  facts  and  items  as  shall  make  the  particular 
consideration  of  their  field  by  the  church  full  of 
instruction  and  pleasureable  profit. 

2.  Get  some  one  that  is  skilled  at  drawing,  to  make 
a  large  map  in  outline  of  each  field,  and  hang  it  up 
where  all  may  see  it,  and  then  having  done  so  use 
it  by  giving  a  graphic  description  of  the  country, 
its  climate,  surroundings,  characteristics,  etc. 

3.  Appoint  some  one  each  month  to  prepare  a 
paper  on  the  field  to  be  considered.  (See  "Prayer-Meet- 
ing And  Its  Improvement,"  page  205,  seq.^ 

4.  Let  the  leader,  and  as  many  as  he  can  enlist  in 
the  arrangement,  come  to  the  meeting  full  of  knowl- 
edge on  the  field,  and  a  vivid  conception  of  facts,'  and 
then  there  will  be  no  lack  of  speakers,  nor  of  interest 
in  the  meetings. 

5.  Draw  your  facts  from  every  available  source,  com- 
mit them  to  memory,  heat  them  like  iron  and  then  speak 
from  the  abundance  of  your  resources.  Never  read  any 
printed  stuff  to  the  people ;  for  nothing  will  sooner 
kill  the  interest  in  the  Monthly  Concert  than  such  a 
habit.  It  is  a  sure  sign  that  you  have  lost  your  own 
interest,  and  besides  are  getting  too  lazy  to  make  prep- 
aration for    the    meeting,    and     a   sustained    interest 


154  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

in  it.  *  A  pastor  writes  me,  whose  Monthly  Concert  is 
of  unusual  profit  and  interest,  "  I  always  go  ready  to 
talk  an  hour  on  missions,  if  it  is  necessary." 

6.  Have  some  one  especially  appointed  to  make  an 
address  or  talk  upon  the  particular  field,  and  its  vari- 
ous mission  stations,  the  personnel  of  its  missionary 
force,  past  results  and  the  present  outlook.  Occasion- 
ally vary  this  plan  so  as  to  have,  in  the  place  of  one 
address,  half  a  dozen  three  minute  talks  from  as  many 
different  persons,  each  one  of  whom  has  got  hold  of 
some  facts,  and  like  Elihu  is  full  of  matter ;  the  Spirit 
within  him  constraining  him. 

7.  But  in  case  all  these  should  fail  you,  be   ready 

yourself  to  fill  up  the  time  with   such   information,  so 

heated  by  meditation,  that  you  cannot  help  but  speak 

with'enthusiasm ;  for  such  a  habit  will  always  rescue  a 

meeting  from  occasional  failures  and  make  it,  year  in 

and  year  out,  equally  profitable  and  attractive.     There 

will  then   be  no  danger  that  the   interest   in   missions 

will  die  out  in  your  church. 

*  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  mention  his  name,  because  he  does  not 
wish  his  people  to  know  the  fulness  of  his  own  preparation  for 
evenj  meeting,  lest  it  should  keep  them  from  equal  thoroughness 
in  preparation.  But  the  point  I  wish  to  make  is  this  :  If  both 
pastor  and  people  come  to  the  meeting  with  such  fulness  of  prepa- 
ration and  such  abundance  of  resources,  it  cannot  be  otherwise 
than  that  the  Monthly  Concert  will  hold  its  place  among  the  most 
interesting  of  all  the  weekly  meetings. 


MONTHLY  CONCERT   FOR  MISSIONS.  1 55 

8.  Finally,  take  up  a  penny  collection  for  the  cause 
of  missions.  If  each  person  present  give  but  a  penny 
—  remember  the  widow's  mite — the  aggregate  during 
the  year  will  be  considerable,  and  consecrated  by  your 
prayers  and  the  prayers  of  your  people,  who  shall 
estimate  the  fruit  thereof  ?  At  this  stage  of  the  meet- 
ing, after  the  people  have  been  fully  informed  of  the 
respective  needs  of  the  mission  fields,  it  seems  to  me, 
they  are  prepared  to  give  intelligently,  and  take  a 
pleasure  in  giving,  to  the  pecuniary  support  of  the 
great  work,  whose  object,  in  obedience  to  the  risen 
Saviour's  commands,  is  the  evangelization  of  the  whole 
earth.  Nor  need  any  one  fear  that  this  will  diminish 
aught  from  the  stated  contributions  of  the  church 
towards  missions  ;  it  will  enlarge  it  the  rather.  "  Many 
mickles  make  a  muckle." 

And  in  order  to  give  a  tabular  view  of  the  results 
by  the  above  method,  I  will  insert  two  sketches  of 
Monthly  Concert  meetings,  the  first  on  Mexico,  and  the 
second  on  India.  The  outline  on  Mexico  is  the  ac- 
count of  a  meeting  held  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Chicago,  which  was  kindly  sent  me  by  the 
pastor,  Rev.  Arthur  Mitchell,  D.D.,  in  response  to 
my  note  after  the  said  meeting  had  been  held : 


156  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

I  —  3yEE2C  ICO- 

March  5th,  1879. 

1.  Hymn. 

2.  Prayer  —  By  the  pastor. 

3.  Hymn. 

4.  Reading  —  Romans  10:  1-18. 

5.  A   Paper  on  Mexico  —  Read,  (after  brief  preparatory  and 

extemporaneous  remarks)  by  R.  C.  Hamill,  M.  D. 
The  paper  was  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  minutes 
long. 

6.  A  Talk  on  Mexico  —  Its  missions  ;    their  success,  the  pr-es- 

.  ent  missionary  force,  etc.  By  the  pastor ;  in  the 
midst  of  which,  a  brother  speaks  out,  as  in  a  con- 
versation at  home,  to  correct  or  enlarge  some  word 
of  the  speaker,  by  means  of  a  question ;  or  the 
speaker  in  turn,  puts  a  question  to  any  one  who  may 
be  better  informed  on  a  particular  point,  than  him- 
self.    This  occupied  twenty  to  twenty-five  minutes. 

7.  Two  prayers  in  succession,  by  brethren,  as  called  upon  by  the 

pastor. 

8.  Hymn  and  Benediction. 


II  —  IIsTID  I.A.. 

April  2d,  1879. 

1.  Hymn — (Gospel  Hymns,  No.  2.)  No.  81. 

"  Watchman  tell  me  does  the  morning 
Of  fair  Zion's  glory  dawn  .''  " 

2.  Scripture  —  Matt.  13  :  31-33;  44-58.     Prayer  by  the  pastor. 

3.  Hymn  —  No.  21. 

"  Lo  1  the  day  of  God  is  breaking ; 
See  the  gleaming  from  afar." 


MONTHLY   CONCERT   FOR   MISSIONS.  1 57 

4.  A  Paper  on  India  —  Written  by  a  lady — read  by  a  gentleman, 

5.  Prayer. 

6.  Hymn — (Gospel  Hymns  and  Sacred  Songs.)  No.  78. 

"  One  offer  of  salvation 
To  all  the  world  make  known." 

7.  Three  short  talks.     Time,  three  minutes  each. 

8.  Prayer. 

9.  THRfeE  additional  short  talks.     Time,  three  minutes  each. 

10.  Hymn —  (Gospel  Hymns  and  Sacred  Songs.)  No.  65. 

"  Brightly  beams  our  Father's  mercy. 
From  His  lighthouse  ever  more." 

11.  A  BRIEF  statement  of  results,  or   a  summing  up  of   the   chief 

points  gained  in  India  during  the  last  year.  By  the 
pastor.  Thus,  Henry  Martyn  once  said,  "If  I  ever 
see  a  Hindoo  converted  to  Jesus  Christ,  I  shall  see 
something  more  nearly  approaching  the  resumption 
of  a  dead  body  than  anything  I  have  ever  yet  seen." 
To-day  there  are  about  500,000  native  Christians  in 
India.  The  rate  of  growth  has  been,  in  1852,  128,- 
000;  1862,  213,000;  1S72,  318,000;  1878,  500,000. 
The  entire  number  of  conversions  in  1878,  was 
60,000. 

12.  Collection. 

13.  Hymn  — (Gospel  Hymns  No.  2.)    No.  8. 

"Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Does  his  successive  journeys   run  ; 
His  kingdom  spread  from  shore  to  shore, 
Till  moons  shall  wax  and  wane  no  more." 

14.  Benediction. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
A  Text-Meeting. 

THE  Bible  is  a  book  we  should  seek  to  illustrate 
by  personal  experience,  as  much  as  possible. 
The  evangelical  church  is  zealously  engaged  in  four 
enterprises  of  unsurpassed  importance,  and  these  are  — 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,  to  supply  every 
individual  with  a  copy  of  the  Bible,  to  put  every  one  in 
the  way  of  reading  and  studying  its  pages,  and  finally 
to  assist  each  one,  so  far  as  human  instrumentalities 
can  do  so,  to  a  practical  understanding  of  its  pure 
precepts. 

The  Monthly  Concert  will  bring  into  review  the  re- 
sults of  work  in  the  great  missionary  world  of  modern 
times,  and  its  now  rapid  conquests  in  the  heathen 
world  ;  and  in  order  to  have  the  claims  and  needs  of 
the  Christian  world  presented,  it  might  not  be  injudi- 
cious to  have  occasionally  a  meeting  for  the  home  field. 
The  disciples  were  commanded  to  begin  their  work  at 
Jerusalem.  The  first  field  always  to  be  cultivated  is 
the  home  field,  and  then  the  missionary  and  the  heathen 
fields. 

158 


A    TEXT-MEETING.  159 

The  work  of  supplying  the  world  with  Bibles  has 
progressed  to  the  extent,  that  a  few  years  ago  it  was 
reported  that  one  family  out  of  every  five  had  been  sup- 
plied. Estimating  an  average  of  four  persons  to  every 
family,  we  see  that  about  one  out  of  every  twenty  per- 
sons owns  a  Bible.  The  estimated  population  of  the 
globe  is  about  1,137,000,000,  so  that  about  56,850,000 
have  been  supplied.  Or,  if  we  take  the  number  of  Bibles 
that  the  various  societies  have  printed,  we  get  substan- 
tially the  same  result.  The  American  Bible  Society  has 
printed  33,125,760  Bibles  during  the  last  sixty  years, 
and  the  British  Society  46,000,000  during  the  last  fifty 
years.  A  great  work  remains  before  the  lovers  of  the 
Bible,  to  circulate  it  to  such  extent  as  to  make  it  pos- 
sible for  every  one  to  own  a  copy. 

A  certain  bishop  in  the  Catholic  Church  delivered  a 
lecture  a  few  months  ago,  to  show  that  their  church  was 
a  church  without  a  Bible,  and  did  not  need  it ;  and  in  a 
lecture  delivered  by  him  on  self-education,  at  another 
time,  among  the  books  named  which  each  one  ought  to 
own,  the  Bible  was  significantly  omitted  ;  but  when  the 
entire  world  save  the  Catholic  Church  shall  have  been 
supplied,  it  too,  will  be  forced  to  abandon  its  rule  of 
relying  upon  tradition  alone,  and  permit  its  laity  to  own 
the  Bible,  and  to  use  it  in  obedience  to  that  command 
of  the  Saviour,  "  Search  the  Scriptures ;  for  in  them  ye 


l5o  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

think  ye  have  eternal  life :  and  they  are  they  which 
testify  of  me."     John  5  :  39. 

As  encouragements  to  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  we 
have  various  departments  of  labor,  such  as  expositoiy 
preaching,  Sunday-school  instruction,  teacher's  meet- 
ings, Bible  institutes,  normal  classes,  topical  prayer- 
meetings,  and  conferences  for  "  Bible  Readings."  But 
notwithstanding  all,  there  is  much  neglect  in  the  reading 
of  the  Bible.  Not  every  one  that  owns  a  Bible,  reads 
it.  Upon  the  covers  of  many  a  one  has  the  dust 
gathered  so  thickly  "  that  anywhere  you  might  write," 
as  Spurgeon  says,  "  the  word  damnation."  Or  it  is  so 
elaborately  gotten  up,  and  so  heavily  clasped,  that  weak 
hands  can  never  remove  it  from  the  display  table  and 
open  its  plated  clasps ;  or  it  may  be  suffered  to  lie  in 
the  bottom  of  the  trunk  by  the  traveller  or  the  school- 
boy away  from  home.  If  we  could  only  convince 
people  that  in  more  senses  than  one  there  is  a  "  hidden 
prize  "  in  the  Bible  for  them,  they  would  more  eagerly 
read  it  to  discover  this  "pearl  of  great  price."  The 
Jntelligencer  gives  an  authentic  incident,  over  the  initials 
of  5.  G.,  which  illustrates  this  in  a  beautiful  and  touch- 
ing manner  : 

" '  Here  is  a  new  Bible,'  said  my  mother,  the  day 
I  went  to  college.     *  You  are  going  away  from    home, 


A   TEXT-MEETING.  l6l 

and  will  have  many  temptations.  Now,  my  son,  just 
as  we  are  separating,  I  have  one  request  to  make. 
Will  you  read  in  it  every  day  ? '  As  I  turned  to  ex- 
amine the  elegant  clasps  and  binding,  I  saw  tears 
in  mother's  eyes  —  tears  which  she  was  vainly  trying 
to  keep  back.  Then  1  firmly  resolved  to  read  a 
chapter,   daily. 

"  College  introduced  a  set  of  companions  entirely 
new  to  me.  A  livelier,  merrier  company  never  dis- 
tinguished college  walls.  I  was  an  extravagant  lover 
of  fun,  and  could  always  raise  a  laugh,  so  that  I  soon 
gained  the  reputation  of  a  wit.  We  led  a  jolly  life, 
amusing  ourselves  often  in  secret  —  to  the  cost  of 
others,  and  unconscious  sacrifice  of  self.  If  we  read 
anything,  it  was  always  of  a  humorous  nature.  We 
never  ventured  to  dwell  on  serious  subjects,  dreading 
a  snare.  Flagrant  offences  were,  however,  avoided, 
and  like  one  of  our  friends  of  the  present  age,  we 
could  say,  '  College  is  fine  with  one  exception,  the 
business  of  recitations  ! ' 

"  But  I  was  so  well  prepared,  so  far  beyond  most 
of  my  classmates,  that  I  managed  to  sustain  myself 
without  study  and  without  public  disgrace. 

"  Mother's  letters  were  very  affectionate,  and  she 
wrote  often,  but  I  always  looked  anxiously  ahead,  so 


l62  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

as  to  '  skip  '  any  part  suspected  of  solemnity  and  ad- 
vice. In  the  course  I  was  pursuing,  I  could  not  pos- 
sibly bear  it. 

"  In  vacation  I  returned  home.  After  the  usual 
greetings  of  welcome,  my  trunk  and  wardrobe  passed 
through  mother's  ordeal.  Her  careful  hand  unfolded 
each  article.  I  stood  by  and  felt  proud  at  her  praises 
of  my  neatness  and  order. 

'*  At  the  bottom  of  the  trunk,  under  everything  else, 
she  found  the  Bible,  and  cheerfully  inquired  if  I  had 
remembered  her  request.  I  was  speechless  ;  she  un- 
clasped it  and  opened  it  to  the  middle.  I  started 
in  surprise,  for  there  were  hidden  two  beautiful  five 
dollar  notes,  one  crossing  the  other.  I  never  shall 
forget  the  expession  of  her  face  as  she-  softly  said,  '  I 
wanted  to  give  my  son  a  pleasant  surprise  when  away 
from  home.' 

"  Mother  died  suddenly.  I  cannot  doubt  that  she 
has  been  in  heaven  for  many  years  ;  but  I  thank  God 
that  I  was  first  able  to  ask  her  forgiveness  and  show 
true  repentance,  and  that  she  lived  to  see  me  a 
preacher  of  the  Bible,  delighting  most  of  all  to  tell  what 
peace  the  Gospel  can  give  to  sinners. 

"  I  remember  once  looking  up  from  a  sermon  I 
was  writing,  and  finding  her  eyes  fixed  on  me  from 
the  next  room.     She   said  with  a  smile,  '  I  have   lived 


A  TEXT-MEETING.  1 63 

to  see  my  son  a  minister  of  Christ,  and  it  is  happi- 
ness enough  for  earth,' 

"  I  was  my  mother's  only  child,  and  she  was  a 
widow." 

And  finally,  the  church  desires  to  stimulate  Bible 
reading  with  a  view  to  its  practical  understanding. 
Before  the  days  of  printing,  many  texts  and  letters 
were  illuminated,  traced  as  they  had  been  upon  the 
parchments  in  silver,  gold,  and  brilliant  colorings.  So, 
likewise,  the  Christian  may  illuminate  his  Bible ;  those 
texts  which  have  a  peculiar  individual  experience  con- 
nected with  them,  should  be  marked,  and  treasured  in 
memory.  Hunters,  we  are  told,  blaze  their  way  through 
a  forest  that  they  may  make  a  familiar  road.  We  may 
well  believe  that  the  thrice  repeated  question,  "  Simon, 
son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  more  than  these  ? "  never 
departed  from  the  memory  of  Peter,  but  always  served 
to  recall  his  experience  connected  with  denial  of  the 
Lord,  and  those  days  that  intervened  from  the  time 
that  he  went  out  and  wept  bitterly,  until  the  day  he 
again  met  his  risen  Lord,  and  was  so  graciously  assured 
of  his  restoration.  May  we  not  suppose  that  the  Ethi- 
opian eunuch  ever  cherished  the  most  lively  remem- 
brance of  Isaiah  53d,  as  Philip  had  explained  it  unto 
him  ?  Must  we  not  believe  that  ever  after,  when  he 
turned  to  that  Scripture,  mental  pictures  of  the  road  to 


164  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

Gaza,  the  chariot,  the  deacon,  the  sermon  that  led  him 
to  Christ,  his  own  confession  and  baptism,  passed  be- 
fore his  mind  in  vivid  array  ?  And  in  our  own  experi- 
ence, if  there  is  a  particular  passage  that  has  brought 
us  to  Jesus,  how  appropriate  to  mark  and  prize  it. 
If  there  are  texts  that  have  comforted  us  in  tlie  day  of 
sorrow  and  distress,  or  in  the  day  of  trial  and  tribula- 
tion —  falling  like  dew  upon  the  thirsty  soul  —  shall  we 
ever  forget  these,  and  not  note  them  with  a  mark  more 
enduring  than  Cretan  ?  Do  you  not  think  that  the 
Ironside  soldier  in  Cromwell's  army,  whose  Bible 
stopped  a  bullet  on  the  way  to  his  heart,  at  verses  nine 
and  ten  of  Eccles.  eleventh  chapter,  would  ever  forget 
that  fact,  and  not  peculiarly  remember  the  meaning  of 
that  passage  ?  Rom.  13  :  13,  was  an  illuminated  text  in 
the  life  and  experience  of  St.  Augustine.  Of  all  chap- 
ters, Isaiah  53d,  was  most  valued  by  that  wit,  sinner, 
and  penitent,  the  Earl  of  Rochester.  I.  Tim.  1:15, 
was  the  favorite  text  of  Bilney,  the  martyr  —  and  had 
its  treasured  memories.  I.  Tim.  i  :  17,  it  is  said,  "was 
the  particular  text  which  led  to  the  conversion  of  the 
elder  President  Edwards."  Rom.  3  :  26,  was  a  text  of 
precious  memory,  and  peculiarly  cherished  by  the  poet 
Cowper.  Eph.  3:20,  came  home  with  peculiar  force  to 
the  historian,  D'Aubigne,  as  accidentally  read  by  him 
while  stopping  at  an  inn.     The  great  illuminated  text 


A  TEXT-MEETING.  165 

of  Luther,  and  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  was 
Rom. 5  : 1  ;  "Therefore  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have 
peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Just 
before  Mr.  Bliss  left  us  for  the  last  time,  he  handed  me 
an  album  for  my  autograph,  and  there  I  found  Is. 
50:7,  to  be  Moody's  illuminated  text,  written  by  his 
own  hand;  and  that  of  Mr.  Sankey's  was  Is.  35  :  10. 
And  so  there  are,  doubtless,  particular  passages  in  the 
Christian  experience  of  every  believer,  which  shine  with 
peculiar  lustre  to  illuminate  our  pathway,  and  make  the' 
Word  of  God  more  precious  and  better  understood. 
Our  entire  life  should  serve  but  to  illuminate  that  Book 
of  Books  —  the  Bible. 

Then  why  not  have  a  text-meeting,  occasionally,  in 
which,  with  song  and  prayer,  the  church  may  have  an 
opportunity  to  present  such  passages  from  the  Bible  as 
have  been  significantly  illuminated  by  their  individual 
experience  ?  Is  there  not  many  a  one  in  the  various 
churches  who  could  present  incidents  as  interesting  as 
that  of  S.  G.  in  connection  with  his  Bible  or  some  of  its 
particular  texts,  that  would  prove  highly  "profitable  for 
reproof,  for  correction,  and  for  instruction  in  right- 
eousness ? " 

And  even  no  more  than  to  give  texts  that  are  espec- 
ially precious  to  different  ones  in  the  church,  without 
any  peculiar   experience   connected   with   them,  would 


1 66  HOW   TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

doubtless  prove,  if  held  at  seasons  suitably  remote 
from  each  other,  a  highly  edifying  meeting,  and  serve  to 
present  some  of  the  most  significantly  helpful  passages 
in  the  Bible. 

"  Study  it  carefully, 

Think  of  it  prayerfully, 
Deep  in  thy  heart  let  its  pure  precepts  dwell  I 

Slight  not  its  history, 

Ponder  its  mystery, 
None  can  e'er  prize  it  too  fondly  or  well. 

"  Accept  the  glad  tidings, 

The  warnings  and  chidings, 
Found  in  this  volume  of  heavenly  lore; 

With  faith  that's  unfailing, 

And  love  all-prevailing, 
Trust  in  its  promise  of  life  evermore. 

"  With  fervent  devotion, 

And  thankful  emotion, 
Hear  the  blest  welcome,  respond  to  its  call ; 

Life's  purest  oblation, 

The  heart's  adoration, 
Gives  to  the  Saviour,  who  died  for  us  all. 

"  May  this  message  of  love, 

From  the  Tribune  above. 
To  all  nations  and  kindreds  be  given. 

Till  the  ransomed  shall  raise 

Joyous  anthems  of  praise — 
Hallelujah  !    on  earth  and  in  heaven." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

A  Promise-Meeting, 

IN  the  Bible  we  find  that  prayer  is  a  claiming  of  the 
promises  of  God  —  a  pleading  of  covenanted  mer- 
cies for  His  own  name's  sake.  The  Bible  is  full  of 
promises.  A  Scotchman  said  he  had  found  thirty-one 
thousand  promises  in  the  Bible  !  To  become  familiar 
with  these  promises  must  certainly  enrich  one's  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible,  not  merely  in  the  line  of  the  prom- 
ises, but  with  regard  to  the  great  and  prominent  doc- 
trines of  salvation.  But  suppose  that  a  Christian 
should  make  himself  conversant  with  a  thousand  prom- 
ises, not  to  say  thirty-one  thousand,  what  a  treasury 
of  divine  arguments  would  such  a  one  have  at  com- 
mand to  make  the  basis  of  his  supplications  at  the 
throne  of  mercy.  It  is  because  God  has  "given  unto 
us  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises,"  and  a 
high  priest  who  can  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of 
our  infirmities,  that  we  are  exhorted  to  "  come  boldly 
unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may  obtain  mercy, 
and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need." 

The  promises  of  the  Bible  are  related  to  our  pres- 
167 


l68  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

ent  need,  trial  and  temptation.  There  is  no  circum- 
stance in  life,  whether  joyous  or  sorrowful ;  there  is 
no  emotion  whether  elevating  or  depressing  ;  there  is 
no  emergency  whether  helpful  or  critical  ;  there  is,  in 
a  word,  no  possible  experience  in  the  life  of  the  Chris- 
tian, but  that  in  the  Bible  finds  its  counterpart  and 
its  sustaining  promise.  And  this  leads  to  the  dis- 
covery that  there  must  be  a  correspondence  between 
the  promises  of  God  and  our  present  need,  in  order 
to  render  them  personally  and  peculiarly  applicable 
and  helpful.  If  the  Bible  pronounces  its  beatitude 
upon  the  pure  in  spirit,  and  promises  that  they  shall 
see  God,  then  the  blessedness  of  such  vision  belongs 
only  to  the  pure  in  heart,  and  none  but  they  can  claim 
the  promise  or  find  any  comfort  in  it.  And  so  the 
promises  of  the  Bible  are,  like  the  manna,  good  only 
for  those  who  appropriate  and  use  them,  according  to 
their  daily  need. 

But  it  is  one  thing  to  discover  that  the  Bible  is  full 
of  promises,  and  another  thing  to  discover  that  they 
are  "  precious,"  for  it  is  only  as  they  are  thus  daily 
tried  and  tested,  that  the  discovery  of  their  precious- 
ness  is  made.  And  so  we  are  told  that  a  certain 
Christian  wrote  on  the  margin  of  his  Bible  by  the 
side  of  certain  of  its  promises,  the  letters  "  P.  T." 
These   cabalistic   signs,  when  explained,  meant  simply 


A    PROMISE-MEETING.  169 

that  their  truth  had  been  proved  and  tested.  O  wise 
and  happy  Christian  thus  to  test  and  prove  the  prom- 
ises of  God  (Mai.  3  :  lo),  for  who  yet  is  there  from 
righteous  Abel  down  to  the  present  that  has  ever 
tested  and  proved  God  to  find  Him  wanting ;  yea,  who 
yet  is  there  whose  experience  it  is  not  that  "all  the 
promises  of  God  in  him  are  yea,  and  in  him,  amen 
unto  the  glory  of  God  ? "  Not  one.  "  He  is  faithful 
that  promised."  "  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away, 
but  my  words  shall  not  pass  away." 

Among  the  six  precious  things  which  Peter  writes 
about  in  his  Epistles,  we  find  that  he  includes  the 
promises  of  God.  He  claims  for  them  two  things ; 
first,  they  are  exceeding  great,  and  second  they  are 
exceeding  precious.  If  we  examine  what  are  the  six 
things  which  he  writes  about  as  being  precious,  we 
shall  find  them  to  be  these  :  (i)  The  trial  of  your 
faith  is  precious ;  (2)  the  blood  of  Christ  is  precious  ; 
(3)  Christ  as  a  living  stone  is  precious  ;  (4)  Christ  is 
precious  to  those  that  believe ;  (5)  faith  is  precious  ; 
(6)  the  promises  are  precious.  And  we  may  well  see 
why  Peter  should  be  almost  the  only  New  Testament 
writer  to  use  the  word  "  precious."  He  had  been 
sorely  tried  and  tempted,  and  had  grievously  fallen; 
and  how  could  he  better  strengthen  the  brethren  than 
by  exalting  Christ,  and  showing  from  his  own   experi- 


I70  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

ence  that  in  all  those  enumerated  things  he  had 
found  them  "  precious."  Would  it  not  be  advisable 
then  to  arrange  for  two  or  three  promise-meetings  each 
year,  when  the  various  attendants  upon  our  prayer- 
meetings  might  have  the  opportunity  to  repeat  those 
promises  from  the  Word  of  God  which  they  have 
"proved  and  tested,"  and  by  a  blessed  experience 
found  to  be  "  exceeding  precious  ?  "  If  we  had,  say 
two  promise-meetings  each  year,  and  at  each  meeting 
fifty  promises  were  presented  that  had  been  especially 
blessed  in  the  experience  of  those  presenting  them, 
then  at  this  rate  it  would  take  three  hundred  and  ten 
years  of  prayer-meetings  before  we  could  get  once 
through  in  presenting  as  many  promises  as  the  Scotch- 
man had  found.  If  your  church  will  only  faithfully 
study  the  Bible,  there  is  no  danger  that  its  promises 
shall  be  exhausted  in  the  history  of  the  prayer-meeting 
during  the  life  of  any  single  generation,  or  presented 
so  frequently  as  to  become  trite  and  threadbare. 

A  revival-meeting  can  be  conducted  at  any  time, 
upon  the  basis  of  a  promise-meeting,  or  be  adapted 
to  meet  the  spiritual  requirements  of  all  present  at 
such  a  meeting.  There  are  promises  that  apply  to 
the  sinner,  such  as  John  6:37;  to  the  backslider,  Jer. 
3  :  22  ;  to  the  believer.  Is.  41:  10,  13  ;  and  Rev.  21 :  4. 
Are  there  not   times   in   the   history  of   every  church 


A    PROMISE-MEETING.  l/I 

when  it  would  be  highly  judicious  to   meet  and  pray 
over  the  promise  contained  in  II.  Chron.  7:  14.  15  ? 

"  Precious  promise  God  hath  given 
To  the  weary  passer-by, 
On  the  way  from  earth  to  heaven, 
'I  will  guide  thee  with  mine  eye.' 

When  temptations  almost  win  thee. 

And  thy  trusted  watchers  fly, 
Let  this  promise  ring  within  thee, 

*  I  will  guide  thee  with  mine  eye.' 

When  thy  secret  hopes  have  perished. 

In  the  grave  of  years  gone  by. 
Let  this  promise  still  be  cherished, 

*I  will  guide  thee  with  mine  eye.' 

When  the  shades  of  life  are  falling. 
And  the  hour  has  come  to  die, 
.   Hear  thy  trusty  pilot  calling, 

'  I  will  guide  thee  with  mine  eye.'  " 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

An  Experience-Meeting. 

WE  have  many  passages  in  the  Bible  which  appeal 
directly  to  the  experience  of  the  believer,  such 
as,  "  If  any  man  will  do  His  will,  he  shall  know  of  the 
doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of 
myself,"  There  are  others,  also,  that  appeal  to  the  ex- 
perience of  the  unbeliever,  such  as  "  Their  rock  is  not 
as  our  rock,  even  our  enemies  themselves  being  judges." 
"  Religious  experience,"  some  one  has  written,  "  is 
not  like  hurdle-racing,  where  you  meet  the  obstacle 
plump  in  your  path,  gather  your  powers  up  for  a  mighty 
effort  and  take  it  all  flying,  and  then  are  over  it,  and 
done  with  it.  It  is  more  like  going  up-stairs.  You 
take  one  step  at  a  time,  and  so  you  get  up  gradually. 
You  cannot  get  up  to  the  upper  rooms  in  the  temple 
of  divine  truth  and  life  with  a  jump.  Experiencing 
religion  is  an  accumulative  experience.  Its  joys  come 
to  man  as  the  joy  of  wider  vision  comes  to  the  tourist 
as  he  climbs  a  mountain.  He  gets  expansion  of  view 
foot  by  foot,  one  step  at  a  time,  and  with  effort." 
Whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine  and  doeth 
172 


AN   EXPERIENCE-MEETING,  173 

them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man  which  built  his 
house  upon  a  rock." 

An  experience-meeting,  at  convenient  intervals,  might 
be  held,  for  the  comfort  of  faith  and  the  strengthening 
of  hope,  in  which  testimony  might  be  taken  on  such 
points  as,  Finding  Christ,,  Following  Christ,  The  faith- 
fulness of  Christ,  The  method  of  Christian  growth, 
The  blessings  of  trials.  The  rewards  of  Christian  work, 
The  joys  of  Christian  life,  etc. 

Nor  would  it  be  out  of  place,  if  the  published  utter- 
ances of  the  opponents  of  Christianity  were  brought 
into  court  to  witness  to  their  experience,  that  we  might 
see  just  what  no  religion  is  calculated  to  do  for  man  in 
life  and  death,  and  what  its  universal  prevalence  would 
do  for  mankind.  Infidelity  has  nothing  positive  to 
offer  in  the  place  of  faith,  hope,  and  charit3\  It  is  the 
science  of  nescience.  A  negation  is  a  poor  crumb  to 
substitute  for  the  bread  and  water  of  eternal  life. 
Thus,  Col.  Ingersoll  has  said,  "  I  don't  know  what  I 
believe.  I  can  tell  you  all  day  what  I  don't  believe." 
Their  house  most  surely  is  built  upon  the  shifting 
sands.  We  may  love  the  colonel,  personally,  whilst  we 
deprecate  his  irreligious  sentiments.  We  may  admire 
his  genius,  the  exuberance  of  his  fancy,  and  the  flights 
of  his  imagination,  whilst  we  deplore  the  fruit  and  ten- 
dency of  his  published  teachings.     Said   Ingersoll,  on 


174  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

May  26,  1876,  at  the  funeral  of  his  father-in-law,  just 
before  leavinsj  the  house,  "  Without  assurance  and  with- 
out fear  we  give  him  back,  as  it  were,  to  Nature,  the 
Source  and  Mother  of  us  all.  Friend,  husband,  father, 
fare  thee  well  !  "  And  at  the  open  grave,  he  said, 
"  With  morn,  with  noon,  with  night,  with  changing 
clouds  and  changeless  stars  —  with  grass,  with  trees 
and  birds,  with  leaf  and  bud,  with  flower  and  blossom- 
ing vine,  with  all  the  sweet  influences  of  Nature,  we 
leave  our  dead.     Again,  farewell !  " 

Upon  the  sudden  death  of  his  brother  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  he  remarked,  "  Life  is  a  narrow  vale,  between 
the  cold  and  barren  peaks  of  two  eternities.  We  strive 
in  vain  to  look  beyond  the  heights.  We  cry  aloud,  and 
the  only  answer  is  the  echo  of  our  wailing  cry.  From 
the  voiceless  lips  of  the  unreplying  dead  there  comes 
no  word,  but  in  the  night  of  death,  hope  sees  a  star, 
and  listening  love  can  hear  the  rustle  of  a  wing." 

And  still  later  in  a  recent  address,  delivered  in  Cin- 
cinnati, Sept.  14,  1879,  he  observed,  "  I  would  wish  that 
the  friends  who  bid  us  '  good  night '  in  this  world, 
might  meet  us  with  '  good  morning '  there.  Just  as  long 
as  we  love  one  another,  we'll  hope  for  another  world  ; 
just  as  long  as  love  kisses  the  lips  of  death,  will  we  be- 
lieve and  hope  for  another  world." 

All  must  admit  that  a  positive  hope  is  a  great  gain 


AN  EXPERIENCE-MEETING.  175 

even  for  this  life.  How  this  is  so,  Mr.  Moody  in  the 
following  remarks  has  shown  with  telling  effect,  and 
from  them  we  may  gather  some  hints  for  conducting  a 
meeting  of  this  kind.  "  You  know,  in  the  first  place," 
he  has  said,  "  that  the  atheist  does  not  believe  in  any 
God.  He  denies  the  existence  of  a  God.  Now,  I  con- 
tend that  his  '  rock  is  not  as  our  rock,'  and  will  let  those 
atheists  be  the  judges.  What  does  an  atheist  look 
forward  to  ?  Nothing,  He  is  taking  a  very  crooked 
path  in  this  world.  His  life  has  been  dark  ;  it  has 
been  full  of  disappointments.  When  he  was  a  young 
man,  ambition  beckoned  him  on  to  a  certain  height. 
He  has  attained  to  that  height,  but  he  is  not  satisfied. 
He  climbs  a  little  higher,  and  perhaps  he  has  got  as 
far  as  he  can  get,  but  he  is  not  contented.  He  is  dis- 
satisfied, and  if  he  takes  a  look  into  the  future,  he  sees 
nothing,  Man's  life  is  full  of  trouble.  Afflictions  are 
as  numerous  as  the  hairs  of  our  head,  but  when  the 
billows  of  affliction  are  rising  and  rolling  over  him,  he 
has  no  God  to  call  upon ;  therefore,  I  contend  his  '  rock 
is  not  as  our  rock,'  Look  at  him.  He  has  a  child. 
That  atheist  has  all  the  natural  affection  for  that  child 
possible.  He  has  a  son  —  a  noble  young  man  —  who 
starts  out  in  life  full  of  promise,  but  he  goes  astray. 
He  has  not  the  will-power  of  his  father,  and  cannot 
resist  the  temptation   of  the  world.     That  father  can- 


176  HOW  TO    CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

not  call  upon  God  to  save  his  son.  He  sees  that  son 
go  down  to  ruin  step  by  step,  and  by-and-by  he  plunges 
into  a  hopeless,  godless,  Christless  grave.  And  as  the 
father  looks  into  that  grave,  he  has  no  hope.  His 
'  rock  is  not  as  our  rock.' 

"  Look  at  him  again.  He  has  a  child  laid  low  with 
fever,  racked  with  pain  and  torture,  but  the  poor  atheist 
cannot  offer  any  consolation  to  that  child.  As  he 
stands  by  the  bedside  of  that  child,  she  says  : 

" '  Father,  I  am  dying ;  in  a  little  while  I  will  go  into 
another  world.  What  is  going  to  become  of  me  ?  Am 
I  going  to  die  like  a  dumb  beast  ? ' 

"  '  Yes,'  the  poor  atheist  says,  '  I  love  you,  my  daugh- 
ter ;  but  you  will  soon  be  in  the  grave  and  eaten  up 
with  the  worms,  and  that  will  be  all.  There  is  no 
heaven,  no  hereafter  j  it  is  all  a  myth.  People  have 
been  telling  you  there  is  a  hereafter,  but  they  have 
been  deluding  you.' 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  an  atheist  going  to  his  dying 
children  and  telling  them  this .-'  My  friends,  when  the 
hour  of  affliction  comes,  they  call  in  a  minister  to  give 
consolation.  Why  don't  the  atheist  preach  no  hereafter, 
no  heaven,  no  God,  in  the  hour  of  affliction  ?  This 
very  fact  is  an  admission  that  '  their  rock  is  not  as  our 
rock,  even  our  enemies  themselves  being  the  judges.' 

"  But   look   a^ain.     That   little   child   dies,  and  that 


AN   EXPERIENCE-MEETING.  I77 

atheist  father  follows  the  body  to  the  grave,  and  lays  it 
down  in  its  resting-place,  and  says  : 

"  '  All  that  is  left  of  my  child  is  there  ;  it  will  soon 
become  the  companion  of  worms,  who  will  feed  upon 
it.     That  is  all  there  is.' 

"  Why,  the  poor  man's  heart  is  broken,  and  he  will 
admit  his  *  rock  is  not  as  our  rock.' 

"  A  prominent  atheist  went  to  the  grave  with  the  body 
of  his  friend.  He  pronounced  a  eulogy,  and  com- 
mitted all  that  was  left  of  his  friend  to  the  winds  —  to 
nature  —  and  bade  the  remains  farewell  forever.  Oh, 
my  friends,  had  he  any  consolation  then  ?  His  *  rock 
was  not  as  our  rock.' 

"  A  good  many  years  ago  there  was  a  convention 
held  in  France,  and  those  who  held  it  wanted  to  get  the 
country  to  deny  a  God,  to  burn  the  Bible  — wanted  to 
say  that  a  man  passed  away  like  a  dog  —  like  a  dumb 
animal.  What  was  the  result  ?  Not  long  after,  that 
country  was  filled  with  blood.  Did  you  ever  think  what 
would  take  place  if  we  could  vote  the  Bible,  and  the 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  God  out  from  among  the 
people  ?  My  friends,  the  country  would  be  deluged 
with  blood.  Your  life  and  mine  would  not  be  safe  in 
this  city  to-night.  We  could  not  walk  through  these 
streets  with  safety.  We  don't  know  how  much  we  owe 
God,  and  the  influence  of  His  Gospel,  among  even  un- 


178  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

godly  men,  I  can  imagine  some  of  you  saying,  '  Why 
this  talk  about  atheists  ?  There  are  none  here.'  Well, 
I  hope  there  isn't ;  but  I  find  a  great  number  who  come 
into  the  inquiry-rooms,  just  to  look  on,  who  confess 
they  don't  believe  in  any  God  or  any  hereafter. 

"  But  there  is  another  class  called  deists,  who,  you 
know,  don't  believe  in  revelation  — who  don't  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ.     Ask  a  deist  who  is  his  God  ? 

"  'Well,'  he  will  say,  '  He  is  the  beginning —  He  who 
caused  all  things.' 

"These  deists  say  there  is  no  use  to  pray,  because 
nothing  can  change  the  decrees  of  their  deity ;  God 
never  answers  prayer.  '  Their  rock  is  not  as  our  rock.' 
In  the  hour  of  affliction  they,  too,  send  off  for  some 
Christian  to  administer  consolation. 

"  But  there  is  another  class.  They  say,  I  am  no 
deist ;  I  am  a  pantheist ;  I  believe  that  God  is  in  the 
air ;  He  is  in  the  sun,  the  stars,  in  the  rain,  in  the 
water —  they  say  God  is  in  this  wood.  Why,  a  pantheist 
the  other  night  told  me  God  was  in  that  post ;  he  was 
in  the  floor.  When  we  come  to  talk  to  those  panthe- 
ists, we  find  them  no  better  than  the  deists  and  atheists. 
There  was  one  of  that  sort  that  Sir  Isaac  Newton  went 
to  talk  to.  He  used  to  argue  with  him,  and  try  to  get 
the  pantheist  into  his  belief,  but  he  couldn't.  In  the 
hour  of  his  distress,  however,  he  cried  out  to  the  God 


AN   EXPERIENCE-MEETING.  179 

of  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  Why  don't  they  cry  to  their  God 
in  the  hour  of  their  trouble  ?  When  I  used  to  be  in 
this  city,  I  used  to  be  called  on  to  attend  a  good  many 
funerals,  ,  I  would  inquire  what  the  man  was  in  his  be- 
lief. If  I  found  out  he  was  an  atheist,  or  a  deist,  or  a 
pantheist,  when  I  would  go  to  the  funeral,  and  in  the 
presence  of  his  friends  said  one  word  about  that  man's 
doctrine,  they  would  feel  insulted.  Why  is  it  that,  in  a 
trying  hour,  when  they  have  been  talking  all  the  time 
against  God  —  why  is  it  that  in  the  darkness  of  afflic- 
tion, they  call  in  believers  in  that  God  to  administer 
consolation  ? 

"  The  next  class  I  want  to  call  attention  to  is  the 
infidel.  I  contend  his  '  rock  is  not  as  our  rock.'  Look 
at  an  infidel.  An  infidel  is  one  who  don't  believe  in 
the  inspiration  of  Scripture.  These  men  are  very 
numerous,  and  they  feci  insulted  when  we  call  them 
infidels  ;  but  the  man  who  don't  believe  in  the  inspira- 
tions of  Scripture  is  an  infidel.  A  good  many  of  them 
are  in  the  church,  and  not  a  few  of  them  have  crept 
into  the  pulpit.  These  men  would  feel  insulted  if  we 
called  them  infidels,  but  if  a  man  says  —  I  don't  care 
who  he  is,  or  where  he  preaches  —  if  he  tries  to  say 
that  the  Bible  is  not  inspired  from  back  to  back,  he 
is  an  infidel.  That  is  their  true  name,  although  they 
don't  like  to  be  called  that. 


l8o  HOW  TO  CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

"  Now  in  that  blessed  book  there  are  five  hundred  or 
six  hundred  prophecies,  and  every  one  of  them  has 
been  fulfilled  to  the  letter ;  and  yet  men  say  they  can- 
not believe  the  Bible  is  inspired.  As  I  said  the  other 
night,  those  who  cannot  believe  it  have  never  read  it. 
I  hear  a  great  many  infidels  talk  against  the  Bible,  but 
I  haven't  found  the  first  man  who  ever  read  the  Bible 
from  back  to  back  carefully,  and  remained  an  infidel. 

"  My  friends,  the  Bible  of  our  mothers  and  fathers  is 
true.  How  many  men  have  said  to  me,  '  Mr.  Moody, 
I  would  give  the  world  if  I  had  your  faith,  your  con- 
solation, the  hope  you  have  from  your  religion.'  Is  not 
that  a  proof  that  '  their  rock  is  not  as  our  rock  ? ' 
Now  look  at  those  prophecies  in  regard  to  Nineveh,  in 
regard  to  Babylon,  to  Egypt,  to  the  Jewish  nation,  and 
see  how  literally  they  have  been  fulfilled  to  the  letter. 
Every  promise  God  makes  He  carries  out. 

"  But  although  infidels  prefer  their  disbelief  in  the 
inspiration  of  Scripture,  they  do  not  believe  in  their 
hearts  what  they  declare,  else  why,  when  we  talk  with 
them,  if  they  have  any  children,  do  they  send  them  out 
of  the  room  ?  Now,  not  long  ago,  I  went  into  a  man's 
house,  and  when  I  commenced  to  talk  about  religion, 
he  turned  to  his  daughter,  and  said  : 

*' '  You  had  better  go  out  of  the  room ;  I  want  to  say 
a  few  words  to  Mr.  Moody.' 


AN   EXPERIENCE-MEETING.  l8l 

"When  she  had  gone,  he  opened  a  perfect  torrent  of 
infidelity  upon  me. 

"  '  Why,'  said  I,  '  did  you  send  your  daughter  out  of 
the  room  before  you  said  this  ? ' 

"  '  Well,'  he  replied,  '  I  did  not  think  it  would  do  her 
any  good  to  hear  what  I  said.' 

"  My  friends,  his  '  rock  is  not  as  our  rock.'  Why  did 
he  send  his  daughter  out  of  the  room  if  he  believed 
what  he  said  ?  It  was  because  he  did  not  believe  it. 
Why,  if  I  believed  in  infidelity,  I  would  wish  my  daugh- 
ters and  my  sons,  my  wife,  and  all  belonging  to  me, 
sharers  in  the  same  belief.  I  would  preach  it  wherever 
I  went.  But  they  doubt  what  they  advocate.  If  they 
believed  it  down  in  their  souls,  why,  when  their  daugh- 
ters die,  do  they  send  for  a  true  Christian  to  administer 
consolation  ?  Why  don't  they  send  for  some  follower  of 
Voltaire,  or  Hume,  or  Paine  ?  Why,  when  they  make 
their  last  will,  do  they  send  for  some  Christian  to  carry 
it  out  ?  My  friends,  it  is  because  their  rock  has  no 
foundation  ;  it  is  because  in  the  hour  of  adversity,  in 
spite  of  all  their  boasts  of  the  grandeur  of  infidelity, 
they  cannot  trust  therr  infidel  friends.  '  Their  rock  is 
not  as  our  rock,  even  our  enemies  themselves  being 
judges.' 

"  Now,  did  you  ever  hear  of  a  Christian  in  his  dying 
hour  recanting  ?    You  never  did.     Did  you  ever  hear 


l82  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS, 

of  Christians  regretting  that  they  had  accepted  Chris- 
tianity, and  in  their  dying  hour  embracing  infidelity  ? 
I  would  like  to  see  the  man  who  could  stand  and  say 
he  had.  But  how  many  times  have  Christians  been 
called  to  the  bedside  of  an  atheist,  or  deist,  or  infidel, 
in  his  dying  hours,  and  heard  him  crying  for  mercy  ? 
In  that  hour  infidelity  is  gone,  and  he  wants  the  God  of 
his  father  and  mother  to  take  the  place  of  his  black 
infidelity. 

"  It  is  said  of  Gilbert  West,  an  eminent  man,  that  he 
was  going  to  take  up  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection, 
and  show  the  world  what  a  fraud  it  was  ;  while  Lord 
Lyttleton  was  going  to  take  up  the  conversion  of  Saul, 
and  just  show  the  folly  of  it.  These  men  were  going 
to  annihilate  that  doctrine,  and  that  incident  of  the 
Gospel.  They  were  going  to  emulate  the  Frenchman 
who  said  it  took  twelve  fishermen  to  build  up  Christ's 
religion,  but  one  Frenchman  pulled  it  down.  From 
Calvary  this  doctrine  rolled  along  the  stream  of  time, 
through  the  eighteen  hundred  years  down  to.  us,  and 
West  got  at  it  and  began  to  look  at  the  evidence  ;  but 
instead  of  being  able  to  cope  with  it,  he  found  it  per- 
fectly overwhelming  —  the  proof  that  Christ  had  risen, 
that  He  had  come  out  of  the  sepulchre,  and  ascended 
to  heaven,  and  led  captivity  captive.     The  light  dawned 


AN    EXPERIENCE-MEETING.  183 

upon  him,  and  he  became  an  expounder  of  the  Word  of 
God,  and  a  champion  of  Christianity. 

"And  Lord  Lyttleton,  that  infidel  and  sceptic,  hadn't 
been  long  at  the  conversion  of  Saul  before  the  God  of 
Saul  broke  upon  his  sight,  and  he,  too,  began  to  preach. 
I  don't  believe  there  is  a  man  in  the  audience  who,  if 
he  will  take  his  Bible  and  read  it,  but  will  be  convinced 
of  its  truth.     What  does  infidelity  do  for  a  man  '? 

"'Why,'  said  a  dying  infidel,  'my  principles  have 
lost  me  my  friends ;  my  principles  have  sent  my  wife  to 
her  grave  with  a  broken  heart ;  they  have  made  my 
children  beggars,  and  I  go  down  to  my  grave  without 
peace  or  consolation.' 

"  T  have  never  heard  of  an  infidel  going  down  to  his 
grave  happily.  But  not  only  do  they  go  on  without 
peace,  but  how  many  youths  do  they  turn  away  from 
God  }  How  many  young  men  arc  turned  away  from 
Christ  by  these  infidels  ?  Let  them  remember  that  God 
will  hold  them  responsible  if  they  are  guilty  of  turning 
men  away  from  heaven.  A  few  infidels  gathered  around 
a  dying  friend  lately,  and  they  wanted  him  to  hold  on 
to  the  end,  to  die  like  a  man.  They  were  trying  to  cheer 
him,  but  the  poor  infidel  turned  to  them  : 

" '  Ah,'  said  he,   '  what  have   I  got  to  hold  on  to  ? ' 

"  My  friends,  let  me  ask  you  what  you  have  got  to 
hold  on  to  ?    Every  Christian  has  Christ  to  hold  on  to  — 


184  HOW  TO  CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

the  resurrected  man.  *  I  am  he  that  liveth  and  was 
dead ;  and  behold,  I  am  alive  forevermore.'  Thank 
God,  we  have  some  one  to  carry  us  through  all  our 
trials.  But  what  has  the  infidel  got  to  hold  on  to ;  what 
hope  has  the  atheist,  deist,  or  pantheist  ?  His  gods  are 
false  gods. 

"  They  are  like  the  false  gods  of  the  Hebrews  ;  they 
never  hear  their  cry.  Whereas,  if  we  have  the  God  of 
Daniel,  of  Abraham,  He  is  always  ready  to  succor  us 
when  in  distress,  and  we  can  make  Him  our  fortress, 
and  we  have  a  refuge  in  the  storm  of  adversity.  There 
we  can  anchor  safely,  free  from  danger  and  disaster. 
I  was  reading  to-night  almost  the  last  words  of  Lord 
Byron,  and  I  want  to  draw  a  comparison  between  the 
sorrowful  words  of  Byron  and  those  of  St.  Paul.  He 
died  very  young  —  he  was  only  thirty-six  —  after  lead- 
ing an  ungodly  life : 

"  '  My  days  are  in  the  yellow  leaf, 

The  flower  and  fruit  of  life  are  gone ; 
The  worms,  the  canker  and  the  grief 
Are  mine  alone.' 

"  Compare  those  words  with  the  words  of  St.  Paul. 
'  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course, 
I  have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for 
me  a  crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord  the  right- 
ous  Jwdge  shall  give  me  at  that  day.'    What  a  contrast ! 


AN  EXPERIENCE-MEETING.  1 85 

What  a  difference !  My  friends,  there  is  as  much  differ- 
ence between  them  as  there  is  between  heaven  and  hell, 
between  death  and  life.  Be  judges,  which  is  the  most 
glorious  —  atheism,  deism,  infidelity,  or  the  Christianity 
of  St.  Paul.  May  God  take  all  these  isms,  and  sweep 
them  from  the  world." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  Consecration-Meeting. 

WHILST  every  religious  meeting  is  In  one  sense, 
a  consecration-meeting,  yet  a  meeting  with 
this  as  its  distinctive  theme,  would  undoubtedly  place 
consecration  before  the  mind  as  an  object  of  more 
earnest  search  and  intense  aspiration.  To  be  sure,  the 
public  profession  of  religion  is  itself  an  act  of  conse- 
cration. We  tacitly  confess  it  to  be  our  standing  duty 
to  live  above  the  world,  whilst  we  live  in  the  world,  and 
to  use  all  things  as  not  abusing  them.  Whilst  all  this 
is  true,  yet  the  Christian  may  grow  cold  and  neglectful 
of  his  spiritual  interests.  It  is  often  the  case  that  the 
spirit  of  worldliness  in  the  business  competitions,  and 
amid  the  manifold  temptations  of  life,  roll  in  upon  us 
like  a  flood.  By  a  meeting  of  this  kind,  we  should  seek 
to  emphasize  the  reasons,  and  present  the  motives  for 
making  nearness  to  God  in  daily  walk,  the  growing  pur- 
pose of  our  life. 

I  well    remember   how  near   God    and  the  spiritual 
world   appeared  to  be  to  me,  after  a  week  of  prayer, 
preparatory   to   the   coming   of   Whittle   and    Bliss,  in 
i86 


A  CONSECRATION-MEETING.  187 

1876.  to  labor  in  services  of  revival  among  our  city 
churches,  as  well  as  the  deep  feeling  those  initial  meet- 
ings of  consecration  produced,  when  the  brethren 
sought  the  blessings  of  God's  reviving  grace,  by  con- 
fession of  sin  and  earnest  supplications  for  pardon  and 
acceptance.  The  affairs  of  this  world  seemed  truly  of 
minor  and  almost  trifling  importance,  and  eternity  with 
its  vast  concerns,  loomed  up  like  Teneriffe,  grand  and 
imposing. 

An  intense  longing  for  souls  filled  our  hearts,  and  a 
tender  regard  for  the  salvation  of  all  our  citizens 
stirred  up  the  deepest  feelings  within  us,  and  opened 
up  even  the  fountain  of  tears.  Had  God  come  in  all 
the  majesty  and  grandeur  of  a  judgment  day,  it  would 
have  occasioned  no  surprise,  but  on  the  contrary,  it 
would  have  been  an  event  entirely  in  keeping  with  our 
wrought-up  emotions. 

The  exercises  in  a  meeting  of  this  kind  as  relate  to 
song.  Scripture,  prayer,  remark,  the  narration  of  expe- 
rience, and  voluntary  parts,  should  all  tend  in  the  one 
direction  of  self-consecration  — "  Nearer  my  God  to 
Thee,  Nearer  to  Thee." 

1.  Prayer. 

2.  Song — 

"Gracious  Spirit!     Love  divine  1 
Let  Thy  light  within  me  shine  ; 


188  HOW   TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

All  my  guilty  fears  remove, 
Fill  me  with  Thy  heavenly  love. 

Speak  Thy  pard'ning  grace  to  me. 
Set  the  burdened  sinner  free ; 
Lead  me  to  the  Lamb  of  God, 
Wash  me  in  His  precious  blood. 

Life  and  peace  to  me  impart. 
Seal  salvation  on  my  heart ; 
Breathe  Thyself  into  my  breast. 
Earnest  of  immortal  rest. 

Let  me  never  from  Thee  stray, 
Keep  me  in  the  narrow  way  ; 
Fill  my  soul  with  joy  divine, 
Keep  me,  Lord  !  forever  Thine." 

3.  Scripture  Lesson  —  Romans  12  th  chapter. 

4.  Prayer. 

5.  Song  — 

"  Oh,  happy  day  that  fixed  my  choice. 
On  Thee,  my  Saviour  and  my  God  \ 
Well  may  this  glowing  heart  rejoice, 
And  tell  its  raptures  all  abroad. 

Oh,  happy  bond  that  seals  my  vows. 
To  Him  who  merits  all  my  love  I 

Let  cheerful  anthems  fill  His  house. 
While  to  that  sacred  shrine  I  move. 

'Tis  done  —  the  great  transaction's  done  ; 
I  am  my  Lord's  and  He  is  mine ; 


A  CONSECRATION-MEETING.  189 

He  drew  me  and  I  followed  on, 
Rejoiced  to  own  the  call  divine. 

Now  rest,  my  long-divided  heart  I 
Fixed  on  this  blissful  centre,  rest ; 

Here  have  I  found  a  noble  part. 

Here  heavenly  pleasures  fill  my  breast. 

High  heaven,  that  hears  the  solemn  vow, 
That  vow  renewed,  shall  daily  hear ; 

Till  in  life's  latest  hour  I  bow. 

And  bless  in  death  a  bond  so  dear." 

6.  Remarks  —  On  the  meaning  of  Ex.  32  :  29. 

7.  Prayer. 

8.  Voluntary  Parts. 

9.  Song  — 

"  Jesus,  my  Saviour  !  bind  me  fast 

In  cords  of  heavenly  love  ; 
Then  sweetly  draw  me  to  Thy  breast, 

Nor  let  me  thence  remove. 

Draw  me  from  all  created  good, 

From  self,  the  world  and  sin, 
To  the  dear  fountain  of  Thy  blood, 

And  make  me  pure  within. 

Oh,  lead  me   to  Thy  mercy-seat, 

Attract  me  nearer  still : 
Draw  me,  like  Mary,  to  Thy  feet, 

To  sit  and  learn  Thy  will. 


190  HOW  TO  CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

Oh,  draw  me  by  Thy  providence, 
Thy  Spirit  and  Thy  Word, 

From  all   the  things  of  time  and  sense 
To  Thee,  my  gracious  Lord." 

10.  Remarks  —  On  Rom.  12  :  i,  2. 

11.  Prayer. 

12.  Song  — 

"And  must  I  part  with  all  I  have, 
My  dearest  Lord  for  Thee  ? 

It  is  but  right,  since  Thou  hast  done 
Much  more  than  this  for  me. 

Ten  thousand  worlds,  ten  thousand  lives, 
*  How  worthless  they  appear, 

Compared  with  Thee,  supremely  good, 
Divinely  bright  and   fair. 

Saviour  of  souls,  while  I  from  Thee, 

A  single  smile  obtain, 
Though  destitute  of  all  things  else, 

Til  glory  in  my  gain." 

13.  Remarks  —  On  Col.  3;  2. 

14.  Prayer. 

15.  Voluntary  Parts. 

16.  Song  — 

"Forth  in  Thy  name,  O  Lord!   I  go, 

My  daily  labor  to  pursue, 
Thee,  only  Thee,  resolved  to  know, 

In  all  I  think,  or  speak,  or  do. 


A  CONSECRATIOV-MEETING,  I9I 

Give  me  to  bear  Thine  easy  yoke, 

And  every  moment  watch  and  pray, 
And  still  to  things  eternal  look. 

And  hasten  to  Thy  glorious  day. 

Fain  would  I  still  for  Thee  employ, 
Whate'er  Thy  boundless  grace  hath  given, 

And  run  my  course  with  even  joy. 
And  closely  walk  with  Thee  to  heaven. 


17.  Benediction. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A  Thanksgiving  Prayer-Meeting. 

IT  has  seemed  to  me  to  be  profitable  to  hold  a 
Thanksgiving  service  on  the  prayer-meeting  evening, 
preceding  this  annual  holiday,  in  which  the  parts  shall 
be  mainly  conducted  by  the  people  themselves.  The 
people  may  have  one  class  of  reasons  for  thankfulness, 
and  the  pastor  another.  There  is  a  large  amount  of 
latent  happiness  in  the  air  just  about  Thanksgiving 
time.  Think  of  all  that  are  happy  in  the  land.  While 
there  are  many  sad  hearts  and  many  sorrowing  ones, 
yet  their  number  is  comparatively  small  when  con- 
sidered as  individual  factors,  in  that  vast  population  of 
forty  million  souls  dwelling  in  this  land.  The  majority 
of  the  people  are  rejoicing ;  and  even  sorrowing  ones 
have  cause  to  be  thankful  that  their  condition  is  not 
worse  than  it  is.  Think  of  the  many  happy  family 
reunions  that  take  place  during  the  recurrence  of  this 
stated  festival.  Think  of  the  children  —  and  how 
many  millions  there  are  —  whose  hearts  are  free  from 
care  and  full  of  joy ;  and  all  this,  because  Thanks- 
giving has  come  round  once  more. 
192 


A  THANKSGIVING  PRAYER-MEETING.  I93 

"  The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice."  Let  the 
people,  then,  have  an  opportunity  to  express  their 
various  reasons  for  grateful  thanks,  in  connection  with 
praise  and  prayer.  Let  the  people  have  Wednesday 
night,  and  on  Thursday  morning  the  pastor  can  have 
his  opportunity  to  deepen  the  interest  already  created, 
and  strike  a  cheerful  key  in  the  volume  and  spirit  of 
rejoicing,  that  shall  ascend  like  incense  to  the  throne  of 
Almighty  God.  By  this  method  it  will  be  found  that 
there  is  a  greater  aggregate,  and  a  greater  variety,  of 
reasons  for  thankfulness,  than  if  one  person  alone  un- 
dertook to  express  them. 

For  several  years  past  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
holding  such  services,  and  I  have  found  them  to  be 
not  only  interesting,  and  helpful  to  the  production  of 
thankfulness,  but  also  exceedingly  precious.  For  in- 
stance, on  Wednesday  evening,  Nov.  28,  1877,  I  held 
such  a  service.  On  Wednesday  evening,  Nov.  27,  1878, 
our  subject  for  the  Thanksgiving  prayer-meeting  was 
this,  "Reasons  for  Thankfulness;"  Eph.  5:  20;  and 
our  subject  for  a  similar  meeting  this  year  is,  "  The 
Blessings  of  the  Year;  "  Ps.  65. 

Let  us  take  the  subject,  "  Reasons  for  Thankfulness," 
in  order  to  give  a  brief  illustration.  One  speaker,  for 
instance,  may  present  a  general  reason  for  thankfulness, 
such   as   the   progress   and  improvement   of  mankind. 


194  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

There  are  divine  forces  at  work  in  history,  hastening 
the  civilization  and  evangelization  of  the  world.  Look 
at  the  gains  in  the  missionary  world. 

Another  speaker  may  observe  that  we  ought  to  be 
thankful  for  the  tokens  of  returning  prosperity  vouch- 
safed unto  us  as  a  people.  The  crops  have  been  abun- 
dant, and  are  now  ingathered.  The  indications  favor 
better  times  in  the  near  future  than  have  been  wit- 
nessed during  the  last  twenty  years.  To  be  sure,  there 
is  an  apparent  exception  to  the  spirit  of  thankfulness 
as  found  in  that  calamity  that  has  afflicted  the  South 
this  year.  During  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow  fever, 
multitudes  have  been  carried  away,  and  many  house- 
holds broken  up  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  were 
united  and  happy.  But  even  the  storm  cloud  has  its 
lining  of  silver.  We  may  be  thankful  that  its  ravages 
have  been  limited,  and  that  they  have  been  accom- 
panied by  such  acts  of  heroism  as  those  have  mani- 
fested who  watched  by  the  side  of  the  dying,  and  also 
that  such  streams  of  charity  have  flowed  in  from  the 
whole  world  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers.  "  One  touch 
of  nature  makes  the  whole  world  kin."  May  we  not 
hope  for  more  friendly  feelings  and  intimate  relations  to 
spring  up  between  the  North  and  the  South. 

A  third  person  may  remark  upon  reason  of  thankful- 
ness as  found  in  the  peaceful  state  of  public  affairs  — 


A   THANKSGIVING   PRAYER-MEETING.  I95 

no  wars  with  foreign  states,  nor  civil  strifes  at  home  — 
as  found  in  the  prosperity  of  our  State,  and  for  the 
health  and  growth  of  our  city. 

Another  speaker  may  profitably  present  the  spiritual 
condition  of  the  church,  and  the  reasons  for  gratitude 
in  connection  with  its  permanence  and  increase. 

A  fifth  speaker  may  give  thanks  that  individual  life 
has  been  spared,  and  that  those  present  have  enjoyed, 
during  the  year,  so  many  opportunities  for  doing  good 
and  getting  good. 

And  a  last  speaker  may  present  some  additional 
reasons  for  gratitude,  in  looking  at  the  "  bright  side  " 
of  tilings,  and  urge  his  hearers  to  cultivate  a  cheerful 
religion  and  a  thankful  spirit.  Let  us  give  "thanks 
always  for  all  things  unto  God  and  the  Father,  in  the 
name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  pastor,  or  leader,  in  closing  the  meeting,  may 
briefly  sum  up  the  chief  lines  of  thought  that  have  been 
presented,  and  urge  his  hearers  not  to  forget  the  poor, 
for  whom  nothing  has  been  prepared,  (Neh.  8:  lo). 
And  even  though  adversity  may  have  been  our  lot,  yet 
let  us  joy  and  rejoice  in  the  God  of  our  salvation ;  for 
in  Him  shall  we  all  eventually  be  enriched.  (Hab.  3: 
17-19).  Who  does  not  perceive  that  the  minister  will 
be  greatly  helped  by  a  service   like   this,  of  prayer, 


196  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

praise,  and  thanksgiving,  in  his  own  preparation  for  the 
more  pubUc  exercises  of  Thanksgiving  Day  ? 

And  now,  I  am  glad  that  I  have  at  hand  the  outline 
of  such  a  service — the  people's  service — for  Thanks- 
giving Day,  as  held  in  the  "  Fourteenth  Street  Presby- 
terian Church,  New  York  city,  Rev.  F.  H.  Marling, 
pastor,  on  Thursday,  Nov.  28,  1878." 

In  a  note  to  this  circular,  as  sent  to  me,  it  was  stated 
that  the  "  People's  Service "  began  "at  11  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  and  closed  at  12.20."  This  plan  will  serve  as  a 
useful  hint  to  the  leader,  in  preparing  an  outline  of 
parts  for  the  "  Wednesday  evening,  Thanksgiving 
prayer-meeting."  As  is  evident,  the  reading  of  the 
proclamations  should  be  omitted,  and  reserved  for 
Thursday  morning,  and  such  other  parts  as  would  in- 
troduce more  opportunities  for  prayer,  and  reduce  the 
exercises  to  the  limits  of  an  hour.  The  plan  explains 
itself,  and  is  printed  in  full  : 

[The  seueral parts  of  this  Service  will  proceed  in  the  following 
order  without  announcement  at  the  time.  The  Readings  are  from 
the  "  Selections  for  Chanting,^^  at  the  end  of  the  Hymn  Book.\ 

1.  Anthem  of  Praise Choir. 

2.  Responsive  Reading — Selection  37      .    Pastor  and  Cong'' n. 

3.  Reading  of  President's  Proclamation  H.  E.  Crampton,  M.D. 

4.  Reading  of  Governor's  Proclamation      R.  McMurray,  M.D. 


A  THANKSGIVING  PRAYER-MEETING.  I97 

5.  Hymn — 1329,  verses  i  and  2     .         .         .    Choir  and  Cong' n. 

6.  God's  Call  to  Thanksgiving     ....        The  Pastor. 

7.  Thanksgiving  in  Prayer The  Pastor. 

8.  Thanksgiving  in  Song  —  Hymn  118,  to  "Spanish 

Hymn "        .         .         .         .      Choir  and  Cong'n. 

9.  The  Beauty  of  a  Thankful  Spirit  .        .  ff.  E.  Rowland. 

10.  The   Shame  of  Unthankful ness      .         .  Alex.  F.  Denniston. 

11.  Reading  in  Unison  of  the  Te  Deum  —  Sel.  49. 

Pastor  and  Cong'n. 

12.  Our  Grounds  for  Thanksgiving  as  Citizens       F.  H.  Wiswell. 

13.  Reading  in  Unison  of  Hymn  1312  .         .         .       S.  S.  School. 

14.  Hymn  1336,  verses  i,  3  and  4  .        .         .     Choir  and  Cong'n. 

15.  Gratitude  for  Temporal  Benefits  to  the  Church        S.  Cutter. 

16.  Rejoicing  as  "  One  in  Christ,"  in   Prayer         E.  P.   Walling. 

17.  Special  Tribute  of  Thanksgiving.  From  "Our 

Young  People ".       . .  .  .  F.  H.  O.  Marling 

18.  Recitation  of  Hymn      .        .  .  .  "  The  Infantry.'^ 

19.  Thanksgiving  and  Thanksliving  .  .  .       F.  A.  Ferris. 

20.  Thank-offering,  for  the  Poor 

"  Every  Man  as  he  may  be  able." 

21.  DOXOLOGY         .......        Choir  and  Cong'n. 

22.  Benediction The  Pastor. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Moody's  Praise  Prayer-Meeting. 

I  WANT  to  take  for  my  subject  to-night  "  Praise." 
We  spoke  at  the  noon  day  meeting  upon  the  subject 
of  "  Thanksgiving."  Now  praise  is  a  step  in  advance 
of  thanksgiving.  If  you  receive  blessings  from  a  man, 
you  may  thank  him,  yet  you  may  not  praise  him.  Now 
praise  is  not  only  speaking  to  the  Lord  on  our  own 
account,  but  it  is  praising  Him  for  what  He  has  done 
for  others.  We  have  had  a  great  many  prayers  going 
up  in  this  Tabernacle  during  the  past  eight  weeks  for 
others,  and  hundreds  —  I  may  say  thousands  —  of  them 
have  been  answered.  We  should  give  praise  for  this. 
We  have  in  our  churches  a  great  deal  of  prayer,  but  I 
think  it  would  be  a  good  deal  better  if  we  had  a  praise- 
meeting,  occasionally.  If  we  could  only  get  people  to 
praise  God  for  what  He  has  done,  it  would  be  a  good 
deal  better  than  asking  Him  continually  for  something. 
We  like  to  have  our  children  ask  us  for  things,  but  if 
they  keep  on  asking  without  giving  thanks,  we  become 
discouraged.  Bear  this  in  mind.  God  expects  us  to 
praise  Him  for  what  He  has  done,  and  if  our  heart  is 
198 


MOODY'S   PRAISE   PRAYER-MEETING.  199 

full  of  gratitude,  and  we  will  praise  the  Lord,  He  will 
do  a  great  deal  more  for  us.  And  I  want  to  say  here, 
a  praise-church  is  what  the  Lord  wants  now. 

A  cold  church  —  a  church  that  is  full  of  formalism  — 
will  never  be  full  of  praise ;  but  a  church  that  is  full  of 
joy,  full   of    gladness,  is    praising   God    all   the   time. 

"  Restore  unto  me  the  joys  of  thy  salvation,  and  up-- 
hold  me  with  thy  free  Spirit,  then  will  I  teach  trans- 
gressors thy  ways."  It  seems  to  me  t-hat  if  we  had 
that  text  all  over  Christendom  at  the  present  time, 
the  ministers  holding  it  up  to  the  people  till  the  church 
is  filled  with  peace,  till  it  is  filled  with  rest,  till  it  is 
filled  with  gladness,  with  promise  —  it  seems  to  me  that 
we  would  then  see  a  revival  as  lasting  as  eternity 
itself. 

Now,  as  I  said  one  night  here  before,  the  world  is 
after  the  best  thing.  If  a  man  wants  to  buy  a  horse, 
he  goes  where  he  can  get  the  best  horse  for  his  money. 
If  a  woman  wants  to  get  a  dress,  she  will  hunt  till  she 
gets  the  very  best  she  can.  Why,  I  have  heard  of  a 
woman  going  for  half  a  day,  from  store  to  store,  to  get 
the  best  piece  of  ribbon  she  could.  It's  a  universal 
law  —  the  world  wants  to  get  the  very  best  thing  it 
can. 

Now,  if  we  can  show  the  world  that  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  best  thing  in  it,  the  world  will  take 


200  HOW  TO    CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

it ;  but  if  we  are  despondent  or  cast  down,  look  gloomy 
are  not  full  of  praise,  if  we  are  not  full  of  joy,  the 
world  will  not  want  it.  We  will  only  drive  men  out  of 
the  kingdom  of  God.  If  we  have  a  praise-church,  we 
will  have  people  converted.  I  don't  care  where  it  is, 
what  ^part  of  the  world  it  is  in ;  if  we  have  a  praise- 
church,  we'll  have  a  successful  Christianity. 

A  young  man  went  down  to  a  church  in  the  East,  the 
pastor  of  which  had  become  an  old  man.  The  people 
got .  asleep.  The  new  man  came  and  tried  to  rouse 
them,  but  it  was  no  use.  He  preached  and  preached, 
and  tried  to  get  them  aroused  and  go  into  the  prayer- 
meeting,  but  he  could  not.     One  night  he  said  : 

"  The  next  night  we'll  have  no  prayer-meeting." 

They  wondered  what  it  meant ;  the  idea  that  this 
young  minister  should  do  away  with  their  prayer-meet- 
ing, which  they  had  had  for  fifty  years  !  They  were 
astonished. 

"  But,"  said  he,  "  we  will  have  a  praise-meeting." 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  one  elder  went  to 
another : 

"  What's  he  going  to  give  up  the  prayer-meeting  for  ? 
Has  he  consulted  you  about  it  ?  " 

"  No." 

"Well,"  replied  the  former,  "that's  a  very  serious 
matter  j  what's  the  meaning  of  a  praise-meeting  ?  " 


MOODY'S    PRAISE  PRAYER-MEETING.  20I 

They  had  been  going  along  without  any  praise- 
meeting,  and  they  did  not  know  what  a  praise-meeting 
meant !  They  went  to  ask  him,  but  he  wouldn't  tell 
them,  but  said,  wait  till  next  Friday  night,  and  then 
they  would  see.  They  began  to  talk  about  it,  and  out 
of  curiosity  a  great  many  came  to  see  what  it  was. 
The  young  minister  read  some  of  those  good  old 
psalms,  that  are  full  of  praise, 

"  Now,"  said  he,  "  if  you  can  think  of  anything  in 
your  past  life  that  you  have  received  from  God,  praise 
God  to-night  for  it.  You  have  been  asking  God  for 
everything,  and  it  chills  the  church  through.  Now  if 
you  can  think  of  any  benefits  you  have  received,  praise 
God  for  them." 

They  began  to  think,  and  they  found  they  had  a 
good  many  things  to  praise  God  for.  One  man  got  up 
and  praised  God  for  a  praying  mother,  who  had  led  him 
to  Christ.  Another  man  got  up  and  praised  God  for 
the  Bible.  Another  praised  God  for  this  and  that, 
and  the  result  was  that  when  the  meeting  was  over, 
instead  of  getting  up  and  walking  out,  they  stopped 
and  shook  hands  with  one  another,  and  spoke  to  one 
another,  and  said  : 

"  I  believe  we  are  going  to  have  a  revival." 

M}'  friends,  if  we  don't  thank  God  for  what  He  has 
done  for  us,  and  be  full  of  joy  and  gladness,  the  world 


202  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

will  not  come  to  Christ.  Would  to  God  that  we  had  a 
praise-church  all  over  Christendom.  Let  Christ's  name 
be  in  the  churches.  Let  them  praise  Him  for  what  He 
has  done,  and  the  world  will  come.  Let  the  world 
know  that  this  is  the  name  in  which  we  trust,  that  this 
is  the  name  we  speak  well  of ;  and  when  His  disciples 
begin  to  do  this,  then  the  world  will  realize  the  good- 
ness of  His  Gospel,  Thank  God,  the  people  of 
Chicago  begin  to  talk  about  Christ ;  and  if  we  can  get 
men  to  talk  about  Christ  in  the  steam-cars,  in  the 
places  of  business,  in  the  horse-cars,  in  the  streets  — 
if  we  can  get  them  to  talk  about  Christ  and  His  love- 
liness, it  won't  be  long  before  thousands  are  converted 
in  a 'day.  May  God.  awaken  the  Christians  to  praise 
Him  for  what  He  has  done. 

Did  you  ever  stop  to  think  that  the  heart  of  man  is 
the  only  thing  that  does  not  praise  the  Lord  ?  The 
heavens  declare  His  glory ;  the  sun  praises  Him  ;  the 
moon  and  stars  praise  Him.  As  the  rain  falls  from 
heaven  it  praises  God ;  all  nature  praises  God  ;  the 
very  dumb  creatures  give  Him  praise,  and  it  is  only  the 
heart  of  man  that  won't  praise  Him.  Oh,  how  deceit- 
ful is  the  heart  of  man.  He  who  gets  the  most  tem- 
poral blessings  is  the  man  that  praises  God  least.  A 
man  may  be  thankful  for  those  blessings,  yet  he  does 
not  praise  Him.     In  fact,  I  don't  believe  that  any  man 


MOODY'S  PRAISE   PRAYER-MEETING.  203 

can  praise  God  till  he  is  born  of  God.  You  may  be 
thankful  for  His  blessings,  but  praising  Him  is  another 
thing ;  praise  is  the  occupation  of  heaven.  Those 
people  who  do  not  praise  God  here,  T  don't  know  what 
they  will  do  when  they  get  into  heaven ;  they  will  be 
strangely  out  of  place  there,  because  that  is  the  occupa- 
tion of  heaven.  The  redeemed,  praise  Him  all  the 
time. 

There  was  a  little  boy  converted,  and  he  was  full  of 
praise.  When  God  converts  man  or  boy  he  is  full  of 
joy  —  can't  help  praising.  His  father  was  a  professed 
Christian.  The  boy  wondered  why  he  didn't  talk  about 
Christ,  and  didn't  go  down  to  the  special  meetings. 
One  day,  as  the  father  was  reading  the  papers,  the  boy 
came  to  him,  and  put  his  hand  on  his  shoulder,  and 
said : 

"Why  don't  you  praise  God?  Why  don't  you  go 
down  to  these  meetings  that  are  being  held  ? " 

The  father  opened  his  eyes,  and  looked  at  him,  and 
said  gruffly: 

"  I  am  not  carried  away  with  any  of  those  doctrines. 
I  am  established." 

A  few  days  after  they  were  out  getting  a  load  of 
wood.  They  put  it  on  the  cart.  The  father  and  the 
boy  got  on  top  of  the  load,  and  tried  to  get  the  horse 
to  go.     They  used  the  whip,  but   the   horse  wouldn't 


204  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

move.     They  got  off  and  tried  to  roll  the  wagon  along, 
but  they  could  neither  move  wagon  nor  horse. 

"  I  wonder  what's  the  matter  ?  "   said  the  father. 

"  He's  established,"  replied  the  boy. 

You  may  laugh  at  that,  but  this  is  the  way  with  a 
good  many  Christians.  The  reason  is,  that  they  are 
not  born  of  God,  or  else  they  have  got  so  far  away  that 
they  don't  exactly  know  where  they  are. 

Now,  if  we  are  really  born  of  God,  if  the  heart  is 
really  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  we  cannot  help 
praising  Him.  I  pity  the  Christian  that  has  no  praise 
in  his  heart.  You  are  living  a  life  of  formalism  —  you 
are  living  on  doctrines.  You  haven't  got  Christ  in 
your  soul,  if  you  don't  praise  Him.  Now,  that  ought 
to  be  the  text.  Ask  yourself,  have  you  praised  God 
this  peaceful  day  of  Thanksgiving  ?     You  say  : 

"Oh,  yes,  I've  thanked  Him." 

But  have  you  spoken  well  of  Christ  ?  Plave  you 
spoken  well  of  what  He  has  done  ?  Have  you  sung 
"hallelujah!  hallelujah!"  for  these  six  months  or  a 
year,  for  this  is  what  they  sing  in  heaven. 

If  a  man  is  born  of  God,  he  can't  help  praising  God. 
Fill   this   building  with   young  converts,  and  see  how 
they  will  sing  : 
"  Oh,  happy  day,  happy  day,  when  Jesus  washed  my  sins  away." 

They  cannot  hear  such  songs  without  praising  God. 


MOODY'S   PRAISE   PRAYER-MEETING,  205 

The  first  impulse  of  a  young  convert  is  to  praise,  and  if 
he  don't  feel  like  praising  the  God  who  saved  him,  it 
is  a  true  sign  that  he  has  not  been  converted  by  the 
grace  of  God ;  he  has  been  born  to  some  creed  or  pro- 
fession, some  man  or  some  church,  and  not  to  the 
loving  Son  of  God,  because  when  Christ  comes  into  the 
heart,  He  brings  joy. 

Now,  take  a  servant  of  the  devil,  he  don't  praise. 
Fill  this  building  full  of  unregenerated  men,  and  try  to 
get  them  to  sing  praises.  You  can't  do  it ;  their 
mouths  are  sealed ;  there  is  no  praise  in  their  heart. 
But  you  get  this  building  filled  with  men  with  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  in  their  hearts,  they  cannot  help  praising 
Him.  How  can  a  man  whose  master  is  the  devil, 
praise  him  ?  Have  you  ever  heard  a  man  rejoice  in  his 
service  ?     I  never  heard  one. 

Now  a  great  many  of  you  say,  "  It  is  all  very  well  for 
him  to  stand  up  there  and  talk  about  praise.  If  I  was 
in  a  comfortable  condition,  good  health,  and  everything 
I  wanted,  like  a  good  many  others  I  see,  I  would  praise 
God." 

It  is  circumstances  with  a  good  many,  but  I  have 
found  people  who  were  poor  in  this  world's  goods,  in 
bad  health,  and  yet  continually  praising  God.  I  can 
take  you  to  a  poor  burdened  one,  who  has  not  been  off 
her  bed  for  ten  years,  and  yet  she  praises  Him  more 


2o6  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

than  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Christians.  Her  cham- 
ber seems  to  be  just  the  ante-room  of  heaven.  Her 
soul  is  full  of  the  love  of  God,  full  of  gladness,  and 
she  is  poor.  Like  Elijah  at  the  brook  Cherith,  she  is 
just  fed  by  the  Almighty ;  God  provides  for  all  her 
wants. 

Any  man  who  knows  God,  can  trust  Him  and  praise 
Him.  He  knows  that  the  Word  of  God  is  true,  for  he 
knows  that  He  will  care  for  him.  He  who  cares  for 
the  lilies  of  the  field.  He,  without  whose  knowledge 
not  a  sparrow  can  fall  to  the  ground.  He,  who  knows 
every  hair  of  our  heads  —  any  man  who  knows  all  this, 
cannot  but  rejoice. 

Is  there  any  one  here,  who,  although  he  is  poor,  can 
find  no  reason  to  praise  God  ?  Some  of  those  Chris- 
tians who  are  so  poor,  but  who  have  the  love  of  God, 
would  not  give  up  their  place  for  that  of  princes. 
Now  my  experience  is,  that  a  man  who  lives  nearest  to 
God,  praises  Him  most,  whether  he  is  rich  or  poor. 
The  nearer  he  gets  to  heaven,  the  more  he  praises  Him. 
The  man  who  is  furthest  from  God,  praises  Him  least. 
Now,  if  there  is  any  Christian  here  who  cannot  praise 
God,  there  is  something  between  him  and  God,  and 
take  my  advice  and  have  it  removed  before  you  go  to 
bed  to-night.  What  the  world  wants  is  joyful  Chris- 
tianity, and  if  we  have  not  that,  we  are  not  going  to 


MOODY  S   PRAISE    PRAYER-MEETING.  207 

see  a  saved  world.  A  backslider  cannot  see  God.  Fill 
this  building  with  backsliders,  and  see  if  they  will  sing 
praises.  That  prodigal  off  there  in  that  foreign  land, 
would  sing  strangely : 

"Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me." 

Do  you  think  that  Peter,  when  he  had  denied  Christ, 
could  sing  a  song  of  praise  to  Him  ?  The  moment  a 
man  turns  his  back  on  God,  there  is  no  praise.  I 
think  that  is  the  reason  there  are  so  many  quartette 
choirs  in  the  churches.  The  people  cannot  sing  them- 
selves, and  they  have  to  hire  people  to  sing  for  them ; 
give  them  $4,000  or  $5,000  per  year  to  sing  the  songs 
of  praises. 

Look  at  a  church  filled  with  the  children  of  God. 
The  moment  a  minister  gives  out  the  song,  their  hearts 
burst  with  praise ;  they  don't  want  anybody  to  sing  for 
them.  If  they  can't  sing  with  their  mouths,  songs  will 
bubble  out  of  their  hearts ;  but  when  a  man  is  back- 
slidden he  wants  artistic  sounds,  wants  fine  music  to 
touch  his  ears ;  don't  want  it  to  affect  his  heart.  Now, 
Israel  could  not  sing  there  in  Egypt  when  they  were 
making  bricks  with  straw ;  they  could  not  sing  with  the 
crack  of  the  slave-drivers  whip  in  their  ears ;  but  when 
they  got  through  the  Red  Sea,  they  struck  up  the  song 
of  redemption,  and  when  a  man  is  redeemed  by  the 
precious  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  cannot  help  praising 


2o8  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

God.  Do  you  know,  I  believe  the  devil  is  very  wise  in 
this.  He  don't  want  a  singing-church,  he  don't  want  a 
praise-church.  If  we  have  a  praise-church,  a  singing- 
church,  he  knows  there  will  be  a  good  many  joining  us. 
He  knows  that  is  the  native  air  of  heaven,  and  the 
moment  a  child  is  born  in  heaven,  he  catches  the 
enthusiasm. 

I  am  told  that  once  during  a  campaign,  the  general 
of  an  army  forbade  the  playing  of  the  soldier's  native 
airs,  because  it  made  them  so  homesick  and  despondent 
that  they  could  not  fight.  So  when  we  hear  the  songs 
of  Zion,  we  are  weaned  from  this  world,  and  want  to  go 
home.  We  feel  that  we  are  pilgrims  and  strangers 
here,  and  we  have  a  better  world  yonder. 

Now,  how  is  it  that  the  church  does  not  praise  God 
more  ?  I  tell  you  I  think  it  is  very  plain.  The  trouble 
is,  we  have  got  settled  down  and  gone  to  sleep.  I 
never  heard  of  a  bird  that  sung  in  its  nest,  and  I  don't 
believe  that  any  man  ever  did,  and  when  a  church  gets 
settled  down,  it  goes  to  sleep.  It  is  when  the  bird  is 
on  the  wing  that  it  sings ;  and  so  it  is  when  the  church 
is  up  it  sings  songs  of  praise.  And  it  can  sing  in  the 
dark  —  a  nightingale  can  sing  in  the  dark.  Paul  and 
Silas,  in  the  darkness  of  that  Philippian  night,  sung 
songs  of  praise.  When  they  put  them  into  that  jail, 
Almighty  God  was  with  them.     You  know  when  Joseph 


MOODY'S    PRAISE   PRAYER-MEETING.  209 

went  down  to  Egypt,  how  God  was  with  him.  When 
they  put  him  in  prison,  they  had  to  lock  God  Ahnighty 
up  with  him,  and  Joseph  sung  songs  of  praise.  But, 
my  friends,  if  we  are  down  in  Egypt,  and  have  turned 
our  backs  on  God,  and  been  taken  captive,  we  are 
dumb.  It  is  only  when  we  have  been  true  to  God  that 
we  can  sing  in  the  darkness. 

Now  I  am  told  that  an  English  lark  never  sings  when 
coming  down  ;  only  when  mounting  up.  That  may  be 
true  or  not,  but  when  a  church  is  coming  down,  it  is 
not  a  praise-church.  When  mounting  up,  and  it  knows 
it  is  coming  nearer  and  nearer  to  God,  it  is  full  of 
praise.  It  cannot  help  it.  When  the  lark  is  mounting 
up,  up,  up,  when  it  is  nearly  out  of  sight,  so  that  you 
can  scarcely  see  it,  it  sings  sweetest.  And  so  when  the 
Christian  is  rising  up  near  to  Christ,  so  that  you  cannot 
see  him,  he  gives  out  the  sweetest  notes  of  praise  from 
his  heart. 

Now  I  can  imagine  some  of  you  saying,  "  I  have  got 
a  good  many  things  going  against  me.  I've  got  a  good 
many  reasons  for  not  praising  God." 

I  find  there  is  no  reason  in  the  world  why  we  should 
not  praise  God.  If  we  have  troubles,  if  we  have 
sorrows  or  afflictions,  we  have  brought  them  upon  our- 
selves. They  are  only  to  wean  us  to  God.  Every  good 
gift  that  we  have  had  from  the  cradle  up,  has  come 


2IO  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

from  God.  If  a  man  just  stops  to  think  what  he  has 
to  praise  God  for,  he  will  find  there  is  enough  to  keep 
him  singing  praises  for  a  week.  As  the  flakes  of  snow 
come  down  from  the  heavens,  so  He  showers  His  bless- 
ings upon  us,  and  if  we  praise  Him  for  them,  He  will 
bless  us  more  abundantly. 

Now,  there  are  people  always  praising.  If  you  are 
sick,  it  is  like  good  medicine  to  see  them.  Then  there 
are  other  people  always  looking  on  the  dark  side. 
There  was  a  man  converted  here  some  years  ago,  and 
he  was  just  full  of  praise.  He  was  living  in  the  light 
all  the  time.  We  might  be  in  the  darkness,  but  he  was 
always  in  the  light.  He  used  to  preface  everything  in 
the  meeting  with  "  praise  God."  One  night  he  came 
to  the  meeting  with  his  finger  all  bound  up.  He  had 
cut  it,  and  had  cut  it  pretty  bad,  too.  Well,  I  won- 
dered how  he  would  praise  God  for  this ;  but  he  got  up 
and  said : 

"  I  have  cut  my  finger,  but,  praise  God,  I  didn't  cut 
it  off." 

And  so,  if  things  go  against  you,  just  think  they 
might  be  a  good  deal  worse.  A  soldier  who  came 
from  the  war  always  used  to  say  he  could  tell  when  a 
Christian  addressed  a  soldier.     One  man  would  say : 

"  You  lost  your  leg.     Where  did  you  lose  it  ?  " 

"  In  the  army." 


MOODY'S   PRAISE  PRAYER-MEETING.  211 

"  What  a  pity  you  ever  went  into  the  war,"  he  would 
reply;  "  I  feel  sorry  for  you." 

Another  would  come  along  : 

"  You  have  lost  an  arm ;  have  you  been  in  the 
army  ? " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  that's  a  pity ;  but  bless  God,  you  didn't  lose 
the  other  arm." 

There  was  a  man  on  the  North  Side,  and  I  never 
came  out  of  his  house  without  praising  God.  He 
was  deaf,  he  was  dumb,  blind,  and  had  the  lockjaw. 
He  had  a  hole  in  his  tooth,  and  all  the  food  he  took 
was  put  through  that  hole.  My  friend,  do  you  ever 
thank  God  for  your  senses  .''  Do  you  ever  thank  God 
for  your  eyes  by  which  you  can  read  His  Word  ? 

Think  of  the  three  millions  of  people  in  this  world 
who  haven't  any  sight  at  all.  Hundreds  of  thousands 
of  them  never  saw  the  mother  that  gave  them  birth ; 
never  saw  their  own  offspring;  never  saw  nature  in 
all  its  glory ;  never  saw  that  beautiful  sun  and  all 
the  stars.  Do  you  ever  praise  God  for  the  ears  by 
which  you  can  hear  the  voice  of  man,  by  which  you 
hear  the  Gospel  preached  ;  by  which  you  hear  the 
songs  of  Zion  ?  Did  you  ever  praise  Him  for  your 
hearing  and  your  reason  ?  Go  down  to  yonder  mad- 
house.    I    never  come  out   of   it   without  feeling  full 


212  HOW  TO   CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

of  praise   to    God.     There   you   will   find   fathers  and 
mothers  and  children  without  the  light  of  reason. 

Now  my  friends,  let  us  praise  God  we  have  a  home 
in  this  Gospel  land.  Let  us  praise  God  for  His  blessed 
Bible.  Let  us  praise  God  for  the  gift  of  his  only  Son. 
Let  us  praise  Him  that  He  gave  up  that  Son  freely  for 
us  all.  Let  us  praise  Him  to-night  for  the  love  of 
His  Son  and  let  us  go  out  of  this  building  with  our 
hearts  full  of  joy. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Song  Service  for  the  Prayer-Meeting. 

IN  a  meeting  of  this  kind  it  is  designed  that  the 
element  of  song  shall  largely  predominate.  A 
hymn,  generally,  if  not  always,  is  a  prayer  breathed 
forth  in  melody  to  express  the  emotions  of  a  thank- 
ful, confiding  and  rejoicing  heart.  A  hymn,  generally, 
is  a  prayer  containing  confession,  petition,  adoration 
and  aspiration.  Let  no  one  think,  then,  if  we  were  to 
have  a  service  with  no  other  parts  but  the  reading 
of  Scripture  the  singing  of  spiritual  songs  and  the  ben- 
ediction, that  such  a  meeting  would  not  be  a  prayer- 
meeting,  for  God's  Word  is  the  basis  of  prayer,  and 
Christian  song  is  the  rhythmical  expression  of  prayer, 
and  the  'apostolic  benediction,  is  prayer. 

There  are  various  ways  in  which  this  service  can  be 
conducted  to  the  spiritual  good  of  the  people.  There 
may  be  times  when  they  are  too  depressed,  or  too  sor- 
rowful to  have  much  heart  for  singing.  "  By  the  rivers 
of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  down  :  yea,  we  wept,  when  we 
remembered  Zion.  We  hanged  our  harps  upon  the 
willows  in  the  midst  thereof.  For  there  they  that  cai- 
213 


214  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS, 

ried  us  away  captive  required  of  us  a  song ;  and  they 
that  wasted  us  required  of  us  mirth,  saying,  *  Sing  us 
one  of  the  songs  of  Zion.' " 

But  there  are  other  times  when  nothing  will  so  rest 
and  inspire  the  people  as  the  singing  of  a  series 
of  songs,  through  which  their  emotions  and  aspira- 
tions shall  find  utterance.  The  psalm,  which  immedi- 
ately follows  the  one  from  which  the  above  quotation 
is  made,  is  the  expression  of  such  a  feeling,  and  the 
exact  opposite  of  that  mood  which  refuses  to  sing.  "  I 
will  praise  thee  with  my  whole  heart ;  before  the  gods* 
will  I  sing  praise  unto  thee.  I  will  worship  toward  thy 
holy  temple,  and  praise  thy  name  for  thy  loving  kind- 
ness and  for  thy  truth:  for  thou  hast  magnified  thy 
word  above  all  thy  name.  In  the  days  when  I  cried 
thou  answeredst  me,  and  strengthenedst  me  with 
strength  in  my  soul.  All  the  kings  of  the  earth  shall 
praise  thee.  O  Lord,  when  they  hear  the  words  of 
thy  mouth.  Yea,  they  shall  sing  in  the  ways  of  the 
Lord  :   for  great  is  the  glory  of  the  Lord." 

Such  seasons  may  be  profitably  chosen,  at  varying 
intervals  during  the  year,  and  the  three  following 
plans  are  given  as  practical  hints  in  this  direction  : 


*  For  the  meaning  see  Ex.  22 :  28  ;  Ps,  82  :  6 ;  John  10  :   34,  36 ; 
and  I.  John  3  :  1,2, 


SONG  SERVICE   FOR   THE   PRAYER-MEETING.         21 5 

First  Method. 

There  are  many  hymns  which  have  an  interesting 
history  connected  with  them.  They  have  been  com- 
posed to  commemorate  some  signal  experience,  deliver- 
ance, or  aspiration  in  religious  life.  And,  besides,  the 
singing  of  a  hymn  has  often  been  blessed  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  the  conversion  of  souls.  Histories  and  anec- 
dotes of  this  kind  have  been  treasured  by  the  church, 
which  it  would  be  most  interesting  to  present  at  the 
prayer-meeting,  from  time  to  time,  in  connection  with 
the  singing  of  such  hymns.  Accordingly  the  remarks 
at  such  meetings  may  be  chiefly  directed  to  present 
such  facts  and  incidents  as  shall  illustrate  their  origin 
or  use. 

Valuable  assistance  for  services  of  this  kind  will  be 
derived  by  the  pastor  and  the  people  from  such  books 
as  "  Hezekiah  Butterworth's  Story  of  The  Hymns," 
"The  Illustrated  History  of  Hymns,"  by  Rev.  E.  M. 
Long ;  and  "  Trophies  of  Song,"  by  Rev.  W.  F.  Crafts. 
And  these  remarks  may  be  either  before  or  after  the 
singing  of  the  hymn  in  question  as  may  seem  most 
desirable.  In  the  following  plan  I  have  sketched  in 
outline,  some  remarks  of  this  nature  in  connection  with 
four  of  the  hymns  that  are  sung  : 


2l6  HOW  TO   CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

I.  Hymn  — 

"  Come,  Thou  Fount  of  every  blessing, 
Tune   my  heart  to  sing  Thy  grace; 
Streams  of  mercy  never  ceasing, 
Call  for  songs  of   loudest  praise." 

2.  Scripture  Lesson  and  Prayer. 

3.  Hymn  — 

"I  love  to  steal  awhile  away, 
From  every  cumbering  care, 
And  spend  the  hours  of  setting  day 
In  humble,  grateful  prayer." 

4.  Remarks  upon  this  hymn  that  has  just    been    sung.    This 

hymn  was  composed  under  the  following  interesting 
circumstances  :  "  Along  a  mountain  stream,  skirted 
with  trees  and  alders,  near  the  village  of  Ellington, 
Ct,  there  was  a  well-trodden  footpath  that  led  from 
a  cottage  to  a  place  of  prayer.  Hither,  at  the  close 
of  each  day,  a  mother  was  wont  to  wend  her  way 
'  to  hold  sweet  communion  with  God.     On  one  sum- 

mer evening  she  was  chided  by  a  neighbor  for  thus 
stealing  'awhile  away '  to  the  seeming  neglect  of  her 
family.  Being  much  pained  by  these  words,  when 
she  returned  hom.e,  she  sat  down  and  penned  this 
hymn  as  an  answer  to  the  criticism,  and  named  it 
'  An  apology  for  my  twilight  rambles,  addressed  to  a 
lady.'  The  writer  of  this  hymn  was  Mrs.  Phoebe  H. 
Brown.  One  of  the  little  ones  for  whom  she  was 
thus  accustomed  to  pray,  is  now  the  Rev.  Sam'l  R 
Brown,  D.D.,  who  has  been  a  most  efficient  mission- 


SONG  SERVICE   FOR  THE  PRAYER-MEETING.  217 

ary  in  Japan,  since  1859.  Wiiat  an  example  to 
praying  mothers,  and  what  an  apt  illustration  of 
God's  promises,  showing  that  those  who  resort  to 
'the  secret  place  of  the  most  high,  shall  abide  under 
the  shadow  of  the  Almighty  — '  that  when  we  pray 
to  Him  in  secret  He  shall  reward  us  openly.  The 
prayers  of  this  earnest  mother  were  answered  in 
the  godly  life  of  all   her  children." 

5.  Prayer. 

6.  Hymn  — 

"  O  Thou  that  hearest  prayer  I 
Attend  our  humble  cry, 
And  let  Thy  servants  share 
Thy  blessings  from  on  high." 

7.  Voluntary  Remarks  or  Prayer. 

8.  Hymn  — 

"  Saviour  !   visit  Thy  plantation  ; 
Grant  us  Lord  a  gracious  rain ; 
All  will  come  to  desolation 
Unless  Thou  return  again. 
Lord !  revive  us. 
All  our  help  must  come  from  Thee." 

9.  Hymn  — 

"There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood, 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins  ; 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood, 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains." 


2l8  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

10.  Remarks  to  explain  this  hymn  as  just  sung :  "  This  hymn 
was  written  by  the  poet  Cowper,  for  the  Olney  Cot- 
tage prayer-meeting,  which  was  led  by  him  and  his 
friend  Newton  ;  but  little  did  Cowper  imagine,  when 
he  heard  Newton  announce,  and  this  small  praying 
band  unite  to  sing  — 

'  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood,' 
that  there  was  starting  a  song  that  would  afterwards 
be   caught  up  by   unnumbered   millions,  and  that  a 
century  later,  while  his 

'  poor,  lisping,  stammering  tongue 

Lies  silent  in  the  grave,' 
would  still  be  repeated  from  the  rising  to  the  setting 
of  the  sun  —  and  continue  to  echo  round  the  globe, 
'Till  all  the  ransomed  Church  of   God, 

Be  saved  to  sin  no  more.' 

This  hymn  presents  the  great  doctrine  of  atonement, 
—  a  doctrine  that  infuriates  the  heart  of  a  proud 
and  boastful  sinner,  and  that  especially  provokes  the 
wrath  of  an  Ingersoll,  who  has  vowed  to  let  no 
public  lecture  pass  without  his  denunciation  of  it  — 
but  a  doctrine  most  precious  to  every  repenting  and 
believing  soul,  that  but  for  the  vicarious  suffering  of 
Christ,  would  be  driven  to  despair.  Numerous  in- 
stances witness  to  the  power  of  the  truth  here  con- 
tained. A  notorious  robber  of  New  York  grew  weary 
of  his  sinful  life,  and  wanted  to  become  a  Christian, 
but  almost  despaired  of  being  saved.  A  Christian 
believer  talked  and  prayed  with  him,  but  could  not 
give    him    any  encouragement.     He  then  sang    the 


SONG  SERVICE   FOR  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.         219 

first  verse  of  this  hymn,  but  the  poor  man  said 
'  There  is  nothing  in  that  for  me.'  He  then  sang  the 
second  verse  — 

'  The  dying  thief  rejoiced  to  see 
That  fountain  in  his  day ; 
And  there  may  I  though  vile  as  he, 
Wasli  all  my  sins  away." 

'That  means  me,'  said  the  penitent  robber.  Hope 
sprung  up  at  once  in  his  heart,  and  he  was  soon 
after  most  happily  converted." 

11.  Prayer. 

1 2.  Hymn  — 

"  Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul  I 
Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly 
While  the  billows  near  me  roll, 
While  the  tempest  still   is  high." 

13.  Remarks  —  "  Charles  and  John  Wesley  and  Richard  Pilmore 

were  holding  one  of  their  twilight  meetings  on  the 
common  when  the  mob  assailed  them,  and  they  were 
compelled  to  flee  for  their  lives.  Being  separated 
for  a  time  as  they  were  being  pelted  with  stones, 
they  at  length,  in  their  flight,  succeeded  in  getting 
beyond  a  hedge  row,  where  they  prostrated  them- 
selves on  the  ground,  and  placed  their  hands  on  the 
back  of  their  heads  for  protection  from  the  stones, 
which  still  came  so  near  that  they  could  feel  the  cur- 
rent of  air  made  by  the  missiles  as  they  went  whiz- 
zing over  them.  In  the  night-shades  that  were  gath- 
ering,  they  managed  to   hide  from  the   fury  of  the 


220  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

rabble  in  a  spring-house.  Here  they  struck  a  light 
with  a  flint-stone,  and  after  .dusting  their  clothes,  and 
washing,  they  refreshed  themselves  with  the  cooling 
water  that  came  bubbling  up  in  the  spring,  and  roll- 
ing out  in  a  silver  streamlet.  Now,  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  Charles  Wesley  was  a  ready  writer  of 
hymns,  and  wrote  as  many  as  four  thousand  in  all, 
and  so  found  inspiration  in  every  circumstance  of 
life.  After  this  escape,  he  pulled  out  a  lead  pencil 
(made  by  hammering  to  a  point  a  piece  of  lead)  and 
drawing  inspiration  from  these  surroundings,  com- 
posed this  noble  hymn.  Almost  every  line  in  the 
hymn  was  illustrated  by  something  that  had  just 
happened,  or  was  suggested  by  the  shelter  they  had 
found  from  the  storm  and  tempest,  by  the  side  of  the 
waters  that  flowed  at  their  feet.  Many  are  the  souls 
that  have  been  converted  through  the  instrumentality 
of  this  hymn,  and  who  shall  tell  the  number  of  those 
who,  both  in  life  and  death,  have  derived  from  it  a 
sweet  and  precious  comfort." 

14.  Prayer- 

15.  Hymn  — 

"  Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears  ; 

Hope,  and  be   undismay'd  ; 
God  hears  thy  sighs  and  counts  thy  tears. 
God  shall  lift  up  thy  head." 

16.  Remarks  explanatory  — "  It  was  a  dark  day  for  Paul  Gerhardt 

when  he  wrote  this  hymn.  On  account  of  some 
conflict  with   the  king,  in  his  religious  sentiments,  he 


SONG  SERVICE    FOR   THE  PRAYER-MEETING.         221 

was  ordered  to  leave  the  Nicholas  Church,  at  Berlin, 
where  he  had  preached  for  ten  years,  and  quit  the 
country.     With  his  helpless  wife  and   little  ones  he 
turned  his  steps    toward    Saxony,    his   native   land. 
The  journey  taken  on  foot  was  long   and  weary,  and 
as  they  turned  aside  to  spend  the  night  in  a  little  vil- 
lage inn,    his  wife,  overcome  with  sorrow,  gave  way 
to   tears  of  anguish.     Gerhardt,   concealing   his  own 
sadness,   quoted   the   beautiful   promise  —  '  Trust  in 
the  Lord ;  in   all  thy  ways   acknowledge   Him,    and 
He   shall  direct   thy  paths.'     His  own  mind  was   so 
impressed  by  these  words,  that  he  turned   aside  and 
composed  this   hymn.     Late  that   evening    two  men 
came  in,  and  in  a  conversation  stated  that  they  were 
going  to  Berlin  to  Gerhardt,  the   deposed   minister. 
His   wife  turned  pale  with   alarm,  but  the  minister, 
with    entire   self-possession,   told    the   strangers   he 
was    the  man  they   were  seeking.     To    his  joy  and 
surprise,  he  learned  that  they  were  sent  with  a  letter 
from  Duke    Christian  of    Meresburg,  to  inform  him 
that  in  view  of  his  unjust  deposition  he    had  con- 
ferred  a   pension   upon    him.     With   great   delight, 
Gerhardt    turned  to   his  wife,  and  handing  her  this 
hymn  which  had  been  composed  earlier  in  the  even- 
ing, when  all  was   so    dark   and   seemingly  hopeless, 
said,  '  See  how  God  provides  ! '     Man's  extremity  is 
God's  opportunity." 

17.   DOXOLOGY  AND   APOSTOLIC  BENEDICTION. 


222  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

Seco7id  Method. 

The  following  Song  Service  was  held  in  Brantford, 
Ontario,  on  the  evening  of  Nov.  17th,  1878,  as  a  Gos- 
pel-meeting, and  was  conducted  by  the  leader,  Rev.  Dr. 
Nichol.  Those  who  attended,  speak  of  it  as  a  most 
refreshing  season,  commanding  close  attention  and  de- 
veloping an  unusuai  interest.  And  those  who  think 
that  the  services  of  the  prayer-meeting  ought  to  be 
"  revivalistic  "  in  their  nature,  will  see  that  it  is  not 
impossible  to  reach  out  after  the  unconverted  on  this 
plan,  and  especially  so  if  such  are  present.  And  that 
it  was  arranged  as  a  plan,  before  the  meeting  was  held 
by  Dr.  Nichol,  is  nothing  more  against  it,  than  it  is 
for  an  evangelist,  or  so  called  revivalist,  to  premeditate' 
the  remarks  which  shall  form  the  sermon  for  a  given 
meeting,  on  a  certain  text,  with  the  other  parts  fore- 
cast in  outline: 


Opening  Hymn  —  "Holy  Spirit,  Faithful  Guide." 

Reading — Scriptures  and  Prayer. 

Gospel  Invitation  —  "Come  Unto  Me,"  etc. 

Second  Hymn  —  "Come  to  the    Saviour." 

I.  But  I   am  a  sinner,  how  can   I  come  ?     Luke  5  :  32.     Read  by 

S.  M.  Thomson,  with  a  few  words  of  invitation. 
Third  Hymn  —  "Just  as  I  am." 


SONG   SERVICE    FOR  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.  223 

II.  Is   there  nothing   to  do  to   merit  salvation  ?     Ephes.  2:8;   Is. 

55  :  I.      Responded    to   by   Wm.    Garside  in  a   few 
appropriate  words. 
Fourth  Hymn  —  "Jesus  paid  it   all." 

III.  Is  there  salvation  for  me  .-*    John  3:    16;  Rev.    22:  17.     Re- 

plied to  by  John  S.  Hardie. 
Fifth  Hymn  —  Whosoever  heareth." 

IV.  I  need  a  guide.     Ps.  48  :   14.     Answered  by  Thos.  Foster. 
Sixth  Hymn  —  "  Precious  Promise." 

V.  What  provision  has  God  made  for  me  ?     I.  John  3  :  i  and  2. 

Reply  suitably  given  by  Wm.  Geddes. 
Seventh  Hymn  —  "Still  there's  more  to  follow." 
Resolution  —  I  will  arise.     Responded   to  by  the   chairman,  in 

a  very  effective  manner. 
Eighth  Hymn — "I  am  coming  to  the  Cross." 
Prayer  and    Singing.     The   Doxology     closed    this    interesting 

meeting. 

Third  Method. 

This  plan  has  more  singing  in  it,  than  either  of  the 
preceding,  and  with  the  explanations  accompanying  it, 
is  taken  from  the  columns  of  The  Watchma?i.  This 
programme  will  occupy  an  hour,  allowing  one  minute  for 
each  verse  sung,  and  three  to  five  minutes  for  remarks 
on  each  topic.  If  the  leader  prepares  a  time-table  on 
this  basis  and  finds  that  there  is  danger  of  running 
over  the  allotted  time,  he  can  omit  some  of  the  singing. 
The  hymns  are  from  Gospel  Hymns,  No.  i : 


224  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

loi  —  "All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name." 

Prayer. 
23  —  "Jesus  loves  even  me.     Vs.  i,  2. 
Read  Rom.  iii.  9-26. 
Remarks  —  Man's  condition  —  sinful. 
41  —  "  The  whole  world  was  lost."     Vs.  1,  3. 
127 — "Come  ye  sinners."     Vs.  i,  4. 

Remarks  —  God's  Remedy  —  Jesus  Christ. 
91  —  "  There  is  a  fountain."    Vs.  i,  2. 
30 — "God  loved  the  world."    Vs.  i,  2. 
78  —  "One  offer  of  salvation."     Vs.  1,2. 
Prayer. 

Remarks — How  received  —  by  faith. 
2  —  "  'Tis  the  promise  of  God."     Vs.  I,  2,  6. 
94 — "Only  trust  Him."     Vs.  i,  3. 

Remarks  —  The  result  —  life  and  peace. 
80  —  "  There  is  life  for  a  look."     Vs.  i,  5. 
100  —  "My  heart  that  was  heavy."    Vs.  1,2,3. 

Prayer. 
132  —  "Come   to  Jesus."     Vs.  i,  2, 3. 

The  leader  announces  all  the  hymns  and  may  deliver 
the  addresses,  but  it  is  generally  better  to  invite  differ- 
ent persons  to  speak,  giving  each  one  a  clear  idea  of 
his  own  topic  and  of  its  relation  to  the  others.  The 
leader  of  singing  should  be  furnished  with  a  list  of 
hymns  beforehand,  that  there  be  no  delay  in  starting 
them.  The  singing  should  be  spirited  and  congrega- 
tional, with  very  brief  organ  interludes,  if  any.     The 


SONG   SERVICE   FOR  THE   PRAYER-MEETING.         22$ 

choir  should  be  composed  entirely  of  Christians,  and 
should  simply  lead  the  singing  and  not  make  a  musical 
display.  There  may  be  a  solo,  occasionally.  All  hearts 
should  be  directed  to  the  truth  sung,  not  to  the  manner 
of  its  rendering.  The  meeting  is  not  a  class  for  musi- 
cal instruction,  or  for  the  practice  of  new  pieces.  But 
it  takes  advantage  of  the  love  for  music  which  is  so 
constantly  appealed  to  in  worldly  entertainments,  and 
so  proves  attractive  to  many  persons  who  could  hardly 
be  persuaded  to  attend  any  other  service. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Different  Methods  for  Conducting  Bible 
Readings. 

IT  has  been  my  purpose  to  give  as  great  a  variety, 
as  might  be,  in  the  history  of  actual  meetings,  by 
giving  the  account  of  such  especially  as  have  attained 
to  the  interest  of  having  been  written  and  spoken 
about.  I  am  indebted  to  the  Rev.  I.  K.  Funk,  for  the 
following  report  of  a  prayer-meeting  which  was  held 
in  a  church  in  Brooklyn,  on  the  subject  of  "  The  Res- 
urrection of  Christ,"  This  theme  had  been  announced 
from  the  pulpit  on  the    preceding    Sabbath. 

"  My  lessons,"  said  the  leader,  "  are  all  drawn  from 
Scripture  texts.  The  brethren  will  please  turn  to  the 
passages  of  Scripture  which  I  will  announce,  and  sig- 
nify as  quickly  as  they  have  found  them.  You  will  all 
find  Bibles  in  your  seats.     My  points  are : 

"  I.  The  fact  of   the  Resurrection.     Matt.  i8  :    2-6. 

" '  I  have  found  it,'  said  a  lady  not  far  from  the  lead- 
er's chair. 

"  *  Please  keep  the  place  until  I  call  upon  you  to 
read  it.' 

226 


METHODS   FOR    CONDUCTING   BIBLE   READINGS.        227 

"  2.  The  power  of  the  risen  Christ.     Matt.  28  :   i8. 
" '  I  have  it,'  said  a  gentleman,  near  the  door. 
"3.  The  great  truth  to  be  proclaimed.    Acts  17:   18. 
"  4.  The  fruits  of  the  Resurrection.     I.  Pet.  i  :  3,  4. 
"  5.  Christ's  Resurrection  the  assurance   of  our  im- 
mortahty.     I.  Cor.  15  :  20. 

"  6.  The   triumphant  song  of   the  Christian.    I.  Cor. 

15  ••  56. 

"  Now,"  continued  the  leader,  when  all  these  texts 
had  been  found,  "  will  the  one  who  has  Matt.  28  :  2-6 
read  ? " 

The  verses  were  read,  and  the  speaker  commented 
upon  them  briefly ;  and  then  the  next  passage  was 
read  and  commented  upon,  and  so  to  the  end.  This 
plan  broke  up  the  monotony  of  the  service  and  made 
it  easy  to  hold  the  attention  of  the  audience." 

The  Rev.  M.  P.  Ormsby,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  at  Eureka,  111.,  has  furnished  a  good  suggestion 
which  may  be  made  the  basis  of  a  Bible  Reading, 
from  memory,  "The  week  before,"  he  writes,  "  select 
twelve  or  fifteen  verses  of  Scripture,  as  for  a  Bible 
Reading  Service.  Write  each  on  a  little  slip  of  paper, 
and  give  them  out  to  such  as  may  like  to  take  them. 
And  at  the  next  prayer-meeting  ask  for  them  in  order, 
invite  remarks,  and  yourself  make  remarks.  Most  of 
them   will  be  repeated   from  memory,  and  the   others 


228  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

read.     Let  the  leader  supply  the  place  of  such  as  may 
be  absent. 

"  This  method  has  been  in  use  among  us  a  few  months, 
and  is  much  liked.  It  secures  much  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, calls  out  many  valuable  and  suggestive  thoughts, 
and  centres  the  remarks  of  all  upon  one  general  theme. 
It  affords  a  fine  opportunity  for  the  young  and  timid 
to  take  part,  and  for  the  sisters,  without  the  violation 
of  the  divine  rule,  to  "keep  silence  in  the  churches." 
Children,  and  young  people,  generally,  like  to  recite  the 
passages,  and  listen  closely  to  the  remarks  upon  them. 
Doubtless,  no  one  way,  can  well  be  followed  forever ; 
but  this  will  apparently  work  well  a  good  while." 

And  for  farther  varieties  of  this  sort,  I  beg  to  refer 
the  reader  to  Chapter  IX.  of  "  The  Prayer-Meeting 
And  Its  Improvement." 

A  word,  also,  may  be  added  just  here  about  methods 
of  reading.  The  reading  of  verses  from  the  Bible  may 
be  done  by  the  leader,  or  some  one  who  is  a  good 
reader  may  be  asked  to  read  the  passages,  when  called 
for  by  the  leader,  or  different  ones  in  the  audience 
may  attend  to  the  reading,  as  previously  designated, 
or  finally,  the  texts  may  be  read  by  the  meeting  in 
concert. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A  Watch  Prayer-Meeting. 

AVERY  interesting  meeting  is  held  by  some 
churches,  especially  by  M.  E.  Churches,  on  the 
last  evening  of  the  year,  and  continued  until  the  mid- 
night hour,  which  is  called  a  watch-meeting.  I  have 
no  doubt  but  that  such  meetings  for  conference,  prayer, 
praise  and  good  resolutions,  when  properly  conducted 
are  valuable  means  of  grace. 

An  outline  of  such  a  meeting  will  prove  as  sugges- 
tive as  anything  that  might  be  written,  in  the  way  of  a 
more  lengthy  introduction: 

I.  Song  — 

"  While  with  ceaseless  course  the  sun 

Hasted  through  the  former  year, 
Many  souls  their  race  have  run. 
Never  more  to  meet  us  here; 
Fixed  in  an  eternal  state 

They  have  done  with  all  below; 
We,  a  little  longer  wait, 
But  how  little  none  can  know. 

As  the  winged  arrow  flies 

Speedily  the  mark  to  find 
229 


230  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

As  the  lightning  from  the  skies 
Darts,  and  leaves  no  trace  behind, 

Swiftly  thus  our  fleeting  days 

Bear  us  down  life's  narrow  stream ; 

Upward,  Lord!  our  spirits  raise; 
All  below  is  but  a  dream. 

Thanks  for  mercies  past  receive, 

Pardon  of  our  sins  renew ; 
Teach  us  henceforth  how  to  live 

With  eternity  in  view; 
Bless  Thy  Word  to  young  and  old. 

Fill  us  with  a  Saviour's  love ; 
And  when  life's  short  tale  is  told 

May  we  dwell  with  Thee  above." 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Song  — 

"  Great  God  I  we  sing  Thy  mighty  hand. 
By  which  supported  still  we  stand; 
The  opening  year  Thy  mercy  shows  ; 
Thrt  mercy  crowns  it  till  its  close. 

By  day,  by  night,  at  home,  abroad, 
Still  we  are  guarded  by  our  God  • 
By  His  incessant  bounty  fed 
By  His  unerring  counsel  led. 

With  grateful  hearts  the  past  we  own ; 
The  future  all  to  us  unknown. 
We  to  Thy  guardian  care  commit. 

And  peaceful  leave  before  Thy  feet. 


A   WATCH    PRAYER-MEETING.  231 

In  scenes  exalted  or  depressed 
Be  Thou  our  joy,  and  Thou  our  rest ; 
Thy  goodness  all  our  hopes  shall  raise, 
Adored  through  all  our  changing  days. 

When  death  shall  close  our  earthly  songs, 
And  seal  in  silence  mortal  tongues, 
Our  helper,  God,  in  whom  we  trust. 
In  better  worlds  our  souls  shall  boast." 

4.  Read  Psalm  90,  and  Mark  13:  33-37. 
5.'  Prayer. 

6.  A  SHORT  address. 

7.  Song  — 

"  Come  let  us  anew 

Our  journey  pursue. 

Roll  round  with  the  year 
And  never  stand  still  till  the  Master  appear ; 

His  adorable  will 

Let  us  gladly  fulfil 

And  our  talents  improve 
By  the  patience  of  hope  and  the  labor  of  love. 

Our  life  is  a  dream  ; 

Our  time,  as  a  stream, 

Glides  swiftly  away. 
And  the  fugitive  moment  refuses  to  stay; 

The  arrow  is  flown. 

The  moment  is  gone, 

The  millenial  year 
Rushes  on  to  our  view,  and  eternity's  here. 


232  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

Oh,  that  each  in  the  day 

Of  His  coming  may  say, 

•  I  have  fought  my  way  through, 
I  have  finished  the  work  which  TIiou  gav'st  me  to  do  1 ' 

Oh  that  each  from  his  Lord 

May  receive  the  glad  word, 

'  Well  and  faithfully  done  1 
Enter  into  my  joy  and  sit  down  on  my  throne  1 " 

8.  Read  Thomson's  "  Hymn  on  The  Seasons." 

"  These,  as  they  change.  Almighty  Father,  these  , 

Are  but  the  varied  God.     The  rolling  year 
Is  full  of  Thee.     Forth  in  the  pleasing  spring 
Thy  beauty  walks;  Thy  tenderness  and  love 
Wide  flush  the  fields ;  the  softening  air  is  balm  ; 
Echo  the  mountains  round  ;  the  forest  smiles  ; 
And  every  sense  and  every  heart  is  joy. 
Then  comes  Thy  glory  in  the  summer  months, 
With  light  and  heat  refulgent.     Then  Thy  sun 
Shoots  full  perfection  through  the  swelling  year; 
And  oft  Thy  voice  in  dreadful  thunder  speaks, 
And  oft  at  dawn,  deep  noon,  or  falling  eve, 
By  brooks  and  groves  in  hollow  —  whispering  gales. 
Thy  bounty  shines  in  autumn  unconiined, 
And  spreads  a  common  feast  for  all  that  lives. 
In  winter  awful  thou  I  with  clouds  and  storms 
Around  the  throne,  tempest  o'er  tempest  rolled. 
Majestic  darkness  !     On  the  whirlwind's  wing 
Riding  sublime.  Thou  bids't  the  world  adore. 
And  humblest  nature  with  Thy  aorthern  blast. 


A  WATCH  PRAYER-MEETING*  233 

Mysterious  round  !  what  skill,  what  force  divine, 
Deep  felt,  in  these  appear  !  a  simple  train, 
Yet  so  delightful  mixed,  with  such  kind  art, 
Such  beauty  and  beneficence  combined ; 
Shade,  unperceived,  so  softening  into  shade  ; 
And  all  so  forming  an  harmonious  whole. 
That,  as  they  still  succeed,  they  ravish  still. 
But  wandering  oft,  with  brute  unconscious  gaze, 
Man  marks  not  Thee,  marks  not  the   mighty  hand. 
That,  ever  busy,  wheels  the  silent  spheres ; 
Works  in  the  secret  deep ;  shoots,  steaming  thence 
The  fair  profusion  that  o'erspreads  the  spring ; 
Flings  from  the  sun  direct  the  flaming  day ; 
Feeds  every  creature  ;  hurls  the  tempest  forth  ; 
And,  as  on  earth,  this  grateful  change  revolves, 
With  transport  touches  all  the  springs  of  life. 

Nature,  attend  !  join  every  living  soul. 
Beneath  the  spacious  temple  of  the  sky, 
In  adoration  join ;  and  ardent,  raise 
One  general  song  I     To  Him,  ye  vocal  "gales, 
Breathe  soft,  whose  Spirit  in  your  freshness  breathes  : 
O,  talk  of  Him  in  solitary  glooms  I 
Where  o'er  the  rock,  the  scarcely  waving  pines 
Fills  the  brown  shade  with  a  religious  awe, 
And  ye  whose  bolder  note  is  heard  afar. 
Who  shake  the  astonished  world,  lift  high  to  heaven 
The  impetuous  song,  and  say  from  whom  you  rage. 
His  praise,  ye  brooks,  attune,  ye  trembling  rills ; 
And  let  me  catch  it,  as  I  muse  along. 


234  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAVER-MEETINGS. 

Ye  headlong  torrents,  rapid,  and  profound ; 

Ye  softer  floods,  that  lead  the  humid  mazra 

Along  the  vale  ;  and  thou,  majestic  main, 

A  secret  world  of  wonders  m  thyself  — 

Sound  his  stupendous  praise  — whose  greater  voice 

Or  bids  you  roar  or  bids  your  roarings  fall. 

Soft  roll  your  incense,  herbs,  and  fruits  and  flowers, 

In  mingled  clouds  to  Him  —  whose  sun  exalts. 

Whose  breath  perfumes  you,  and  whose  pencil  paints ; 

Ye  forests  bend,  ye  harvests  wave,  to  Him  ; 

Breathe  your  still  song  into  the  reaper's  heart 

As  home  he  goes  beneath  the  joyous  moon. 

Ye  that  keep  watch  in  heaven,  as  earth  asleep 

Unconscious  lies  ;    effuse  your  mildest   beams 

Ye  constellations,  while  your  angels  strike. 

Amid  the  spangled  sky,  the  silver  lyre. 

Great  source  of  day !  best  image  here  below 

Of  thy  Creator,  ever  pouring  wide 

From  world  to  world,  the  vital  ocean  round 

On  Nature  write  with  every  beam  his  praise. 

The  thunder  rolls  :  be  hushed  the   prostrate  world : 

While  cloud  to  cloud  returns  the  solemn  hymn. 

Bleat  out  afresh,  ye  hills  ;  ye  mossy  rocks, 

Retain  the  sound ;  the  broad   responsive   low. 

Ye  valleys,  raise !  for  the  great  Shepherd  reigns, 

And  his  unsuffering  Kingdom  yet  will  come. 

Ye  woodlands  all  awake  I   a  boundless  song 

Burst  from  the  graves  !  and  when  the  restless  day, 

Expiring,  lays  the  warbling  world  asleep. 

Sweetest  of  birds  !  sweet  Philomela,  charm 


A   WATCH    PRAYER-MEETING.  235 

The  listening  shades  and  teach  the  night  his  praise. 

Ye  chief,  for  whom  the  whole  creation  smiles, 

At  once  the  head,  the  heart,  and  tongue  of  all 

Crown  the  great  hymn  !  in  swarming  cities  vast, 

Assembled  men  to  the  deep  organ  join 

The  long-resounding  voice,  oft  breaking  clear, 

At  solemn  pauses,  through  the  swelling  bass  : 

And,  as  each  mingling  flame  increases,  each, 

In  one  united  ardor  rise  to  heaven. 

Or  if  you  rather  choose  the  rural  shade, 

And  find  a  fane  in  every  sacred  grove. 

There  let  the  shepherd's  flute,  the  virgin's  lay. 

The  prompting  seraph,  and  the  poet's  lyre, 

Still  sing  the  God  of  seasons  as  they  roll. 

For  me,  when  I  forget  the  darling  theme, 

Whether  the  blossom  blows,  the  summer  ray 

Russets  the  plain,  inspiring  autumn  gleams. 

Or  winter  rises  in  the  blackening  cast. 

Be  my  tongue  mute  —  my  fancy  paint  no  more. 

And,  dead  to  joy,  forget  my  heart  to  beat. 

Should  fate  command  me  to  the  farthest  verge 
Of  the  green  earth,  to  distant  barbarous  climes, 
Rivers  unknown  to  song  —  where  first  the  sun 
Gilds  Indian  mountains,  or  his  setting  beam 
Flames  on  the  Atlantic  isles  it's  naught  to  me : 
Smce  God  is  ever  present,  ever  felt 
In  the  void  waste  as  in  the  city  full  ; 
And  where  He  vital  spreads  there  must  be  joy 
When  even  at  last  the   solemn  hour  shall  come 


236  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

And  wing  my  mystic  flight  to  future  worlds, 

I  cheerful  will  obey !   'twere  with  new  powers, 

Will  rising  wonders  sing :    I  can  not  go 

Where  Universal   Love  not  smiles  around, 

Sustaining  all  yon  orbs  and  all  their   suns ; 

From  seeming  evil  still  educing  good, 

And  better  thence  again,  and  better  still, 

In  infinite  progression.     But  I  lose, 

Myself  in  Him,  in  light  ineffable  1 

Come,  then,  Expressive  Silence,  muse  His  praise." 

9.  Reflections  and  Experiences. 
lo.  Song  — 

"  Holy  Father  !   Thou  hast  taught  us 
We  should  live  to  Thee  alone  ; 
Year  by  year  Thy  hand  hath  brought  us 

On  through  dangers  oft  unknown. 
When  we  wandered   Thou  hast  found  us. 

When  we  doubted,  sent  us  light ; 

Still  Thine  arm  has  been  around  us. 

All  our  paths  were  in  Thy  sight. 

In  the  world  will  foes  assail  us. 

Craftier,  stronger,  far  than  we. 
And  the  strife  shall  never  fail  us, 

Well  we  know  before  we  die. 
Therefore,  Lord  !    we  come  believing 

Thou  canst  give  the  power  we   need. 
Through  the  prayers  of  faith  receiving 

Strength,  the  Spirit's  strength  indeed. 


A  WATCH   PRAYER-MEETING.  237 

We  would  trust  in  Thy  protecting, 

Wliolly  rest  upon  Thine  arm, 
Follow  wholly  Thy  directing, 

Thou  our  only  guard  from  harm ; 
Keep  us  from  our  own  undoing, 

Help  us  turn  to  Thee  when  tried; 
Still  our  footsteps.  Father  !   viewing, 

Keep  us  ever  at  Thy  side. 

ir.  Prayer. 

12.  Tribute  to  the  memory  of  departed  members. 

13.  Song  — 

"  For  Thy  mercy  and  Thy  grace, 

Faithful  through  another  year. 
Hear  our  song  of  thankfulness. 

Father  and  Redeemer  1  hear. 
In  our  weakness  and  distress 

Rock  of  strength ;   be  Thou  our  stay ; 
In  the   pathless  wilderness 

Be  our  true  and  living  way. 

Who  of  us  death's  awful  road 

In  the  coming  year  shall  tread  ? 
With  Thy  rod  and  staff,  O  God  J 

Comfort  Thou  his  dying  head. 
Keep  us  faithful,  keep  us  pure. 

Keep  us   evermore  Thine   own ; 
Help,  oh  help  us  to  endure  ; 

Fit  us  for  the  promised  crown." 


238  HOW  TO    CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

14,  P.EADat  the  midnight  hour  as  the  bells  ring  out  the  old  year 
and    ring    in  the    new,  Tennyson's     Hymn   for   the 
New  Year  — 
"  Ring  out,  wild  bells,  to  the  wild  sky, 
The  flying  clouds,  the  frosty  light 
The  year  is  dying  in  the  night; 
Ring  out,  wild  bells  and  let  him  die. 

Ring  out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new, 
Ring  happy  bells  across  the  snow 
The  year  is  going,  let  him  go ; 

Ring  out  the  false,  ring  in^the  true. 

Ring  out  the  grief  that  saps  the  mind. 
For  those  that  here  we  see  no  more  ; 
Ring  out  the  feud  of  rich  and  poor 

Ring  in  redress  to  all  mankind. 

Ring  out  a  slowly  dying  cause, 
And  ancient  forms  of  party  strife 
Ring  in  the  noble  modes  of  life 

With  sweeter  manners,  purer  laws. 

Ring  out  the  want,  the  care,  the  sin, 
The  faithless  coldness  of  the  times, 
Ring  out,  ring  out  my  mournful  rhymes, 

But  ring  the  fuller  minstrel  in. 

Ring  out  false  pride  in  place  and  blood. 
The  civic  slander  and  the  spite  ; 
Ring  in  the  love   of   truth  and  right ; 
Ring  in  the  common  love  of  good. 


A   WATCH   PRAYER-MEETING.  239 

Eing  out  old  shapes  of  foul  disease  ; 
Ring  out  the  narrowing  lust   of  gold : 
Ring  out  the  thousand  wars  of  old; 

Ring  in  the  thousand  years  of  peace. 

Ring  in  the  valiant  man  and  free, 
The  larger  heart,  the  kindlier   hand; 
Ring  out  the  darkness  of  the  land, 

Ring  in  the  Christ  that  is  to  be." 

15.  The  Pledging  of  the  New  Year  with  good  Resolutions. 

16.  Song  — 

"  Thou  who  roll' St  the  year  around 

Crowned  with  mercies  large  and  free. 
Rich  Thy  gifts  to  us  abound, 

Warm  our  praise  shall  rise  to  Thee. 
Kindly  to  our  worship  bow. 

While  our  grateful  thanks  we  tell, 
That,  sustained  by  Thee,  we  now 

Bid  the  parting  year — farewell. 

All  its  numbered  days  are  spent, 

All  its  busy  scenes  are  o'er. 
All  its  joys  forever  fled, 

All  its  sorrows  felt  no  more. 
Mingled  with  the  eternal  past. 

Its  remembrance  shall  decay  ; 
Yet  to  be  revived  at  last 

At  the  solemn  judgment-day. 


240  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS 

All  our  follies,  Lord,  forgive  ! 

Cleanse  us  from  each  guilty  stain  j 
Let  Thy  grace  within  us  live, 

That  we  spend  not  years  in  vain. 
Then,  when  life's  last  eve  shall  come, 

Happy  spirits,  may  we   fly 
To  our  everlasting  home. 

To  our  Father's  house  on  highl"' 

17.    DOXOLOGY  AND   BENEDICTION. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Ladies'  Prayer-Meeting, 

INASMUCH  as  business  men  have  their  special  sea- 
sons for  prayer,  there  is  no  reason  why  women 
should  not  have  theirs.  If  men,  harrassed  by  business 
cares,  can  daily  snatch  a  few  moments  in  the  midday 
for  spiritual  devotion  and  religious  improvement,  pre- 
sumably the  ladies  who  are  freed  from  such  anxieties, 
can  devote  at  least  one  day  each  week  for  such  a  meet- 
ing. The  ladies  have  leisure  for  calling  and  meeting 
in  societies  to  foster  various  benevolent  schemes  ;  shall 
they  not  also  find  leisure  and  relish  for  meetings  of 
social  prayer  and  religious  conference  ?  I  don't  know 
as  it  would  be  anything  out  of  place,  if  the  women 
were  to  hold  their  daily  meeting,  or  afternoon  meeting, 
for  the  increase  of  grace  and  the  promotion  of  god- 
liness, just  the  same  as  men  have  their  daily  noon-day 
meetings.  Is  there  not  some  Lanphier  to  inaugurate 
such  a  system  ? 

Now  I    am  aware  that  novelists,  like  Dickens,    and 
humorists  of  our  day,  have  turned  their  wit  to  ridicule 
such  small  societies  as  tend  to  create  greater  interest 
241 


242  HOW  TO  CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

in  matters  pertaining  to  "  Borrioboola-Gha  "  than  their 
own  neighborhoods,  or  make  women  more  busy  in  the 
affairs  of  otlier  households  than  those  which  belong 
to  their  own  home  circles.  We  occasionally  see  such 
extracts  as  the  following  going  the  rounds  of  the 
press  : 

"  '  Is  the  lady  of  the  house  rn  ? '  some  one  has  called 
to  inquire. 

" '  Certainly  she  isn't,'  the  '  henpecked  '  husband  has 
responded.  '  She  is  out.  She  is  perennially  and  eter- 
nally out.' 

"'Where  can  I  see  her? ' 

"'Why,  go  down  to  the  Woman  Suffrage  Club 
Rooms ;  and  if  she  is  not  there,  go  to  the  Society  for 
the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals ;  and  if  she  has 
left  there,  visit  the  hall  of  the  Association  for  Allevi- 
ating the  Miseries  of  ths  "  Senegambians ; "  and  if  she 
has  not  finished  up  there,  look  for  her  at  the  Church 
Aid  Society,  or  at  the  Ninth  Ward  Soup  House,  or 
at  some  of  these  places." 

This  may  do  very  well  for  satire,  or  as  an  exaggera- 
tion ;  but  it  has  a  very  slender  foundation  in  fact.  Reli- 
gion does  not  induce  neglect,  nor  countenance  idleness 
in  anybody.  Its  spirit  is  the  exact  opposite.  He  or 
she  that  neglects  to  provide  for  the  house  and  the 
household  is  no  better  than  a  heathen,    and   has  de- 


LADIES     PRAYER-MEETING.  243 

nied  the  faith.  Christianity  denounces  the  gathering 
and  circulating  of  scandal,  and  such  neglect  of  home 
interests  as  is  implied  in  "  gadding  about "  and  the 
being  nothing  better  than  busybodies  in  the  affairs 
of  others.  A  daily  prayer-meeting,  for  that  matter, 
might  be  instituted  and  carried  forward  without  slight- 
ing a  single  responsibility  of  the  home  circle  ;  in  point 
of  fact,  such  a  meeting  would  prove  an  incentive  to 
greater  fidelity  in  the  performance  of  the  entire  scheme 
of  domestic  duties.  A  prayer-meeting  is  the  best  friend 
that  can  be  found  to  promote  sweetness,  purity,  fidelity 
and  light  in  all  the  relations  of  home  and  in  all  the 
sacred  duties  of  wife,  mother,  or  daughter. 

A  ladies'  weekly  prayer-meeting  would  prove  itself 
most  beneficial  and  invigorating  to  the  piety  of  a 
church  if  it  should  be  carried  forward  on  the  plan  of 
visiting  all  the  homes  of  the  congregation.  Such  a 
plan  would  tend  to  increase  the  usual  number,  by  in- 
teresting those  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of  assembling 
for  this  purpose.  It  would  deepen  the  current  of  god- 
liness. It  would  revive  the  faith  hope  and  charity 
of  the  weak-hearted  and  the  backsliding.  It  would 
arouse  the  careless  and  indifferent.  It  would  lead 
many  to  become  inquirers  in  the  way  of  religion.  It 
would  foster  regularity  in  attendance  upon  all  the  ser- 
vices and  upon  all  the  ordinances  of  the  sanctuary.     It 


244  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

would  beget  a  lively  sympathy,  and  strengthen  the 
bonds  of  Christian  love,  between  household  and  house- 
hold. Whilst  the  wants  of  the  home  are  fully  looked 
after  and  not  despised,  something  of  love  and  benefi- 
cence would  also  spring  up  in  the  heart  toward  the 
poor,  the  neglected,  and  even  the  far-off  "  Senegam- 
bians."  In  a  word,  the  attendance  upon  meetings  of 
prayer,  and  the  habit  of  prayer  itself,  would  adorn  and 
sanctify  the  home,  and  make  it  more  beautiful  and  dig- 
nified than  all  the  places  on  the  earth  besides.  What 
place  more  sacred  on  earth  than  a  godly.  Christian, 
praying  home  ? 

Seasons  of  the  deepest  religious  interest  in  the  church 
set  all  classes  to  praying,  as  notice  the  following  ex- 
tract from  the  Works  of  President  Edwards.  And  it 
is  but  natural  when  souls  realize  how  near  heaven  is 
to  them,  and  how  important  are  all  its  concerns,  that 
they  should  converse  with  heaven  in  the  only  language 
that  forms  a  communication  between  earth  and  heaven 
—  prayer. 

"Before  the  first  great  outpouring,"  he  writes,  "of 
the  Spirit  of  God  on  the  Christian  church,  which  began 
at  Jerusalem,  the  church  of  God  gave  themselves  to 
incessant  prayer.  The  inhabitants  of  our  town  —  at 
the  time  of  the  great  revival  —  are  now  divided  into 
particular  praying  societies  j  most  of  the  people,  young 


ladies'  prayer-meeting.  245 

and  old,  have  voluntarily  associated  themselves  in  dis- 
tinct companies  for  mutual  assistance  in  social  worship 
in  private  houses ;  what  I  intend,  therefore,  is  that  days 
of  prayer  should  be  spent  partly  in  these  distinct  pray- 
ing companies.  Such  a  method  of  keeping  a  fast  as 
this  has  several  times  been  proved ;  in  the  forenoon, 
after  the  duties  of  the  family  and  closet,  as  early  as 
might  be,  all  the  people  of  the  congregation  have 
gathered  in  their  particular  religious  societies ;  com- 
panies of  men  by  themselves,  and  companies  of  women 
by  themselves ;  young  men  by  themselves,  and  young 
women  by  themselves  ;  and  companies  of  children  in 
all  parts  of  the  town  by  themselves,  as  many  as  were 
capable  of  social,  religious  exercises;  the  boys  by 
themselves,  and  the  girls  by  themselves ;  and  about 
the  middle  of  the  day,  at  an  appointed  hour,  all  have 
met  together  in  the  house  of  God  to  offer  up  public 
prayers,  and  to  hear  a  sermon  suited  to  the  occasion  ; 
and  they  have  retired  from  the  house  of  God  again 
unto  their  private  societies,  and  spent  the  remaining 
part  of  the  day  in  praying  together  there."  But  of 
course  seasons  like   these  are  exceptional. 

A  ladies'  prayer-meeting  to  be  successful,  should  be 
prompt  in  opening  and  in  closing.  The  exercises 
should  be  short  and  pointed.  The  subject  should  be 
announced  at  least  one  week  in  advance.     The  exer- 


246  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

cises  in  its  speaking  parts  should  be  without  formality, 
and  in  a  large  measure,  conversational.  An  essay 
might  occasionally  be  prepared  by  those  whose  gifts 
lie  in  that  direction.  A  poem,  or  other  article,  illus- 
trating the  subject,  might  be  read  at  times  to  vary 
the  exercises.  A  Bible  reading,  now  and  then,  would 
prove  highly  edifying.  There  should  always  be  much 
singing,  and  whose  voice  is  sweeter  than  woman's  ? 
Let  each  one  find  out  what  her  peculiar  gift  or  talent 
may  be,  and  then  let  that  capacity  be  more  fully  cul- 
tivated to  the  edifying  of  all.  Some  may  have  a  gift 
for  prayer,  let  them  pray ;  some  for  singing,  let  them 
sing ;  some  for  writing,  let  them  write ;  some  for  read- 
ing, let  them  read  ;  some  for  teaching,  let  them  teach ; 
some  for  exhortation,  let  them  exhort ;  and  some  for 
silence,  let  them  keep  silence.  There  are  Marthas  as 
well  as  Marys.  Let  full  freedom  prevail,  that  so  all 
may  come  for  profit  and  delight.  If  there  is  a  woman's 
missionary  society  in  the  church,  give  one  meeting  a 
month,  or  less  often,  in  which  to  consider  the  spread 
of  the  Gospel  in  home  and  foreign  fields,  and  to  pray 
for  its  success.  If  there  are  other  societies,  let  not 
their  interests  be-  ignored,  but  make  them  occasionally, 
and  each  in  their  turn,  the  subject  of  the  meetings. 
In  this  way  all  interests  will  be  harmonized,  and 
workers  in  their  peculiar  spheres  will  sympathize  more 


ladies'  prayer-meeting.  247 

heartily  with  the  aims  and  endeavors  of  each  other, 
without  clash  or  rivalry.  And  let  it  be  understood 
that  one  class  of  work  is  as  honorable  as  another, 
inasmuch  as  each  and  all  are  necessary  to  the  well- 
being  of  Christ's  kingdom.  It  might  be  well,  as  a  last 
suggestion,  that  all  the  ladies  in  the  church  be  divided 
into  twelve  committees,  and  the  care  and  conduct  of 
the  prayer-meeting  for  an  entire  month  given  to  each. 
In  this  way,  all  the  gifts  of  the  church  will  be  called 
out,  and  more  fully  cultivated. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Tuesday  Evening  Meetings. 
To  Include  a  Training  College  and  Other  Objects. 

IN  many  churches  it  is  the  custom  to  hold  two  reg- 
ular meetings  of  the  church,  besides  the  Sunday 
services,  generally  on  the  evenings  of  Tuesday  and 
Friday,  the  one  for  a  prayer-meeting,  and  the  other 
for  a  lecture,  or  for  other  purposes,  both  social  and 
devotional.  I  suppose  just  as  many  public  meetings  of 
this  kind  in  each  week  will  be  judicious  as  you  can 
make  highly  profitable,  interesting  and  inspiring.  The 
principle  to  be  observed  is,  not  the  number  of  meetings 
you  can  hold,  but  the  kind  of  meetings  which  you  can 
make  them.  It  is  not  quantity  that  is  to  be  sought 
after,  but  quality.  It  surely  is  much  better  to  enlist 
your  people  in  efforts  of  an  improving  nature,  than 
to  leave  the  whole  week  open  for  all  sorts  of  recrea- 
tions,  amusements  and  worldly  frivolities. 

And  as  an  example  of  how  people  respond   to  the* 
labors  of   an  earnest  pastor  in  behalf   of  their  spiritu- 
alities, I  may  give  a  brief  transcript  from  the  "  Memoir 
of  Dr.  Edward  Payson." 
248 


TUESDAY   EVENING   MEETINGS.  249 

His  church  at  Portland,  Maine,  were  in  the  habit 
of  keeping  a  quarterly  day  for  fasting  and  prayer,  and 
in  this  matter  he  had  himself  set  a  notable  example  by 
regularly  observino;  some  day  in  each  week  for  fasting 
and  secret  prayer.  Indeed,  it  is  generally  supposed, 
that  the  frequency  with  which  he  abstained  from  food 
for  religious  purposes,  was  a  chief  reason  for  the  decline 
of  his  health  and  early  death ;  and  yet  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  these  frequent  fastings  and  his  daily 
hours  of  secret  prayer  kept  up  that  intense  spirituality 
in  his  life  which  made  his  ministry  so  successful  during 
the  twenty  years  of  his  pastorate.  In  a  letter  to  a 
young  clergyman,  written  in  1821,  Dr.  Payson,  to  answer 
some  questions  about  his  pastoral  labors  and  methods 
of  preaching,  stated  that  "  since  the  failure  of  my 
health,  I  preach  but  three  sermons  in  a  week  —  two  on 
the  Sabbath,  and  one  on  Thursday  evening.  ...  I 
also  aim  to  preach  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  in  a  prac- 
tical and  experimental,  rather  than  a  dry  and  specula- 
tive manner.  In  preaching  to  professing  Christians, 
I  endeavor  to  rouse  and  humble,  rather  than  to  com- 
fort them  ;  for,  if  they  can  be  kept  humble,  comfort 
will  follow,  of  course.  Besides,  I  do  not  suppose  that 
Christians  need  as  much  consolation  now  as  they  did 
in    the  primitive  ages,  when  exposed  to    persecution. 

"Our   church  is   divided   into   seven    districts;    the 


2SO  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

members  of  each  district  meet  for  prayer  and  confer- 
ence once  a  month,  and  the  brethren  residing  in  each 
district  are  a  standing  committee  of  the  church  for 
that  district,  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  poor,  and 
bring  before  the  church,  in  due  form,  any  case  of 
disciphne  which  may  occur.  We  have  a  monthly  meet- 
ing of  all  the  brethren  for  business,  a  church  confer- 
ence every  Tuesday  evening,  a  prayer-meeting  on  Fri- 
day evening,  a  monthly  prayer-meeting  for  the  Sabbath- 
schools,  and  the  monthly  union  concert  for  prayer. 
We  have  also  an  inquiry-meeting  for  males  on  Sabbath 
evening,  and  for  females  on  Friday  afternoon." 

As  the  result  of  such  multiplied  work  he  was  never 
without  serious  inquirers  about  the  way  of  salvation  — 
sometimes  as  high  as  sixty  persons  coming  together 
at  the  same  time  for  this  purpose  —  and  still  farther, 
his  church  kept  growing  steadily  by  the  accession  of 
membership  by  conversion,  ranging  from  thirty  to 
fifty  persons  a  year. 

There  is  scarcely  any  limit  to  the  different  kinds  of 
meetings  that  may  be  held,  or  as  to  the  variety  of 
objects  that  may  be  especially  contemplated  by  them. 
What  these  shall  be  will  depend  upon  the  pastor,  and 
the  hearty  co-operation  of  his  people.  A  plan  for  a 
continuous  series  of  Tuesday  evening  meetings,  in 
connection  with  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  on  'Friday 


TUESDAY   EVENING   MEETINGS.  251 

evenings,  to  embrace  a  training  college  and  other 
objects,  has  been  kindly  sent  me  by  Dr.  Arthur  T. 
Pierson,  pastor  of  the  Fort  Street  Presbyterian  Church, 
Detroit,  Mich.  The  schedule  is  printed  in  full,  that 
it  may  serve  as  a  suggestion  to  pastors  who  are  en- 
gaged in  labors  of  a  similar  nature.  I  do  not  know, 
but  I  suppose  that  each  member  of  the  congregation 
is  supplied  with  a  copy  of  these  subjects  for  use  and 
reference : 

1878. 

November. 

5.  Quarterly  Meeting.  Christian  Union.  E.  yay  Carrington. 
12.  Training  College.     "  The  Laws  of  Evidence."  Pastor. 

19.  Believing  on  Testimony.  John  xx  :  24-31.  Emory  Wendall. 
26.  Conference.     Mission  Work;  fields  and  methods. 

C.   G.  Browiiell. 

December. 

3.  Work  for  Willing  Hands.     Nehemiah  iv:  6. 

ElisJia  A.  Eraser. 
10.   Bible  Reading.     Preparation  for  Work.  John  Cameron. 

17.  Quarterly  Meeting.     Foreign  Mission  Societies.  President. 

24.  Social  Meeting.     Dickens'  Christmas  Carol.  C.  Buncher. 

31.  The  Old  Year  and  the  New.     Psalm  Ixv.  James  J.  Cone. 

1879- 
January. 

7.  The  Character  of  Caleb.  Joshua  xiv  :  6-15.  Bradford  Smith. 
14.  Training  College.     "  The  Search  after  Truth."    I. 

Rev.  F.  T.  Bayley. 


252  HOW  TO  CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

21.  Training  College.     "The  Search  after  Truth."    II. 

Rev.  F.  T.  Bayley. 

28.  Training  College.     "  The  Search  after  Truth."   III. 

Rev.  F.  T.  Bayley. 

February. 

4.  Conference.     How  shall  we  find  our  Work.         Geo.  S.  Adams. 
II.  Anniversary  Christian  Union.  E.  Jay  Carrington. 

18.  Social  Meeting.     "  A  Trip  to  the  Golden  Gate."  Pastor. 

25.  Conference.     How  shall  we  Save  Young  Men. 

C.  P.  Woodruff. 

March. 

4.  Joseph's  Prosperity.     Genesis  xxxix  :  1-6.       Lticieit  A.  Smith. 
II.  Training  College.     The  Argument  for  Prophecy.  Pastor. 

18.  Social  Meeting.     Hints  on  the  Reading  of  Books. 

Charles  Btincher, 
25.  God's  Chosen  Workers,     i  Cor.  i :  26-31.  F.  Hyatt  Smith. 

April. 

I.  Annual  Meeting.     Young  Men's  Foreign  Miss   Society. 

Charles  Biincher. 

8.  Bible  Reading.     "  The  Sin  of  Neglect."  Frank  G.  Smith. 

15.    Social  Meeting.     "  The  Paradise  of  the  Pacific."  Pastor. 

22.  The  Bible  a  Practical  Guide.     Psalm  cxix  :  9-16. 

Geo.  W.  Hoffman. 

29,  Conference.     Sabbath-school  Teaching.  Jos.  W.  Smith. 

May, 

6.  Quarterly  Meeting.     Christian  Union.  President. 

13.  Training  College.     "  Prophecy  and  History."  Pastor. 

20.  Called  in  Youth  :o  Serve  God.     Jere.  i :  6-9.     Geo.  //.  Ladne. 
27,  Isaiah's  Holy  Zeal.     Isaiah  Ixii :  1-7.  Theoph.  Hosiins. 


TUESDAY   EVENING  MEETINGS.  253 

Junk. 

3.  Conference.     How  Shall  We  Reach  the  Masses  ? 

Wm.  H.  Beresford. 
10.  Bible  Reading.     Overcoming  Temptation.  A.  G.  Hibbard. 

17.  Social  Meeting.     "  A  Tallc  on  Shells."  Bry.  Walker. 

24.  Praise  Meeting.     David's  Psalms.  F.  Lambie. 


July. 

I.  Quarterly  Meeting  Foreign  Missionary  Societies.         President. 

(Papers  on  Ignatius  Loyola  and  Fidelia  Fiske.) 

8.  Learning  by  Teaching.     Isaiah  1:4.  A.  P.  SherrUl. 

15.  Holy  Living  and  Prayer.     Matt,  vi :  5-7.  E.  O.  Windsor. 

22.  Holy  Living  and  Giving.     Malt,  vi :  1-5.  Jno.  Bristow. 

29.  Doing  What  We  Can.     Mark  xiv:  1-9.  W.A.  Whittlesey. 

August. 

5.  Quarterly  Meeting.     Christian  Union.  President. 

12    Bible  Reading.     The  Power  of  Prayer.  y.  R.  Dtitton. 

19.  Social  Meeting.     "  A  Talk  on  Health."  D.  Inglis,  M.  D. 

26.  Christ  Our  Example.     I.  Peter  ii :  21-25.  ^*  H.Earle. 


September. 

2.  Sanctified  Vessels.     II.  Tim.  ii :  ig-21.  H.  M.  Parke. 

9.  Conference.     Duties  of  Church  Members.  E,  C.  Walker. 

16.  Training  College.     Argument  from  Miracles  I.  Pastor. 

23.  Conference.  "  Serving  the  Lord  in  Business."  S.  P.  Wilcox. 
30.  Praise  Meeting.     Hymns  of  the  Ages.  '  F.  Lambie. 

October. 

7.  For.  Missionary  Societies.     Semi-annual.    "Japan." 

President. 


254  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

14.  Bible  Reading.     "  The  Holy  Young  Men  of  Scripture." 

y.  B.  Irvine,  jr. 
21.  Social  Meeting.  "  The  Service  of  Sacred  Song."  Pastor. 
28.  Conference.     Directing  Inquirers  to  Christ.       Jno.  Cameron. 

November. 

4.  Quarterly  Meeting.     Christian  Union.  President. 

II.  Conference.     "  Young  Mens' Christian  Association." 

W.  McMillan. 
18.  Training  College.     Argument  from  Miracles  II.  Pastor. 

25.  Promise  Meeting.     *'  The  Heavenly  Inheritance." 

A.  T.  Henderson. 

December. 

2.  Lost  Opportunities.     Matthew  x.xv.  W,  Bithl. 

9.  Bible  Reading.     "  Responsibility  to  God."  M.  C.  Httyett. 

16.  Social  Meeting.     "  Longfellow  and  his  Poems."       C.  Bitncher. 

23.  Life  and  Death.     II.  Cor.  iv :   16 :  to  v.  9.        Douglas  Payne. 

30.  Quarterly  Meeting.     For.  Miss'n  Societies.  President. 

(Papers  on  Alex.  Duff  and  Harriet  Newell.) 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Young   Men's   Saturday  Night    Prayer-Meetings. 

THESE  meetings,  in  their  nature  and  methods, 
do  not  differ  from  other  meetings  for  prayer. 
Their  object,  apart  from  the  spiritual  good  they  are 
calculated  to  do,  is,  as  I  suppose,  to  enable  young  men 
among  themselves  to  pray  and  speak  with  a  greater 
sense  of  freedom,  and  prepare  them  for  active  co- 
operation in  the  weekly  church  prayer-meeting.  In 
many  churches  a  young  peoples'  meeting  is  held  on 
Sabbath  evening  just  before  the  public  services.  In 
the  Fourteenth  street  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York 
city.  Rev.  F.  H.  Marling,  pastor,  a  prayer-meeting  is 
held  every  Saturday  evening,  for  half  an  hour,  exclu- 
sively for  young  men,  which  has  proved  itself  very 
successful  and  efficient.  By  the  following  schedule  it 
will  be  seen  that  their  work  is  laid  out  very  systemati- 
cally from  one  summer's  vacation  to  another.  How 
profitable  it  must  be  for  young  men  thus  actively  to 
engage  in  their  own  spiritual  improvement — the  cul- 
ture of  their  gifts  and  graces  —  and  to  throw  a  good 
influence  around  their  comrades  —  "come  thou  with 
255 


256  HOW  TO  CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

US  and  we  will  do  thee  good" — amid  the  many  temp- 
tations of  cit}?^  life,  1  need  not  stop  to  enlarge  upon  ! 
Nor  do  I  introduce  their  list  of  subjects  with  names 
of  their  leaders,  because  I  suppose  that  every  church 
can  enter  into  just  the  same  kind  of  work ;  they  may 
not  have  the  young  men,  or  they  may  be  carrying  on 
all  the  public  meetings  that  it  is  judicious  for  a  church 
to  prosecute  —  let  every  thing  be  done  thoroughly;  but 
I  do  give  it  so  that,  where  circumstances  are  similar, 
and  a  field  for  this  kind  of  labor  is  opened,  the  field 
may  be  worked,  and  useful  hints  gathered  from  their 
experience.  I  remember  that  a  writer  in  kindly  review- 
ing "  The  Prayer-Meeting  And  Its  Improvement,"  said 
that,  "  It  is  not  likely  that  any  one  would  undertake 
to  carry  out  all  the  suggestions  of  this  author ;  for  no 
two  could  be  found  with  notions  so  exactly  alike  that 
these  details  would  equally  please  them.  .  .  .  But 
methods  might  be  selected  from  this  book  that  would 
greatly  assist  leaders,  both  clerical  and  lay." 

I  agree  with  him  fully,  but  I  must  not  have  said  it 
as  clearly  as  it  ought  to  have  been  said  in  that  book ; 
but  now,  lest  it  be  said  against  this  book,  that  it 
designs  to  establish  a  church  with  a  continuous  session 
of  various  forms  of  prayer-meetings,  I  hasten  to  deny 
such  intention.     Each  church  may  have  a  field  of  labor 


SATURDAY   NIGHT   PRAYER-MEETINGS.  257 

peculiar  to  itself ;  let  that  peculiarity  be  fully  met  and 
fully  developed.  Train  it  into  a  glorious  success  for 
the  Master. 

In  one,  it  may  be  an  auxiliary  cottage  prayer-meeting ; 
in  another,  a  woman's  meeting ;  in  a  third,  an  Aaron 
and  Hur  Society,  and  in  a  fourth,  something  else.  Do 
not  undertake  too  much,  but  do  well  what  you  under- 
take, and  if  in  these  pages  of  hints,  gathered  from 
many  sources,  you  find  anything  to  help  you,  give 
God  the  praise, 

1878-79- 
October. 

5.  Reunion,  One  in  Christ.    John  17  :6-2i.   Leader,  F.  A.Ferris. 
12.  Subject,  "  Young  Man  Arise."     Luke  7  :   11-16. 

A.  C.  Donaldson. 
19.  Subject,  "  Fear  Not."     Isa.  41  :  10  ;   43  :  i.     Matt.  10  :  28. 

C.  B.  Sanders. 
26.  Subject,  "  Stand  Fast."     L  Cor.  16:  13.     Phil,  i :  27-30. 

A.  E.  Marling. 

November. 

2.  Subject,  "Be  Strong."     Psa.  27  :  13,  14.     Eph.  6:  10-18. 

John  H.  Jewett. 
9.  Subject,  "Take  Heed."      Josh.  22  :  5.      Luke  12:  15.      Rev. 
22  :  19.  Geo.  If.  Dixon. 

16.  Subject,  "Put  Away  Evil."     Eccl.  11:  9,  10.     II.  Tim.  2  :  22. 

A.  F.  Denniston. 
23.  Subject,  "Be  Thankful."     Psa.    103:  1-5.     Col.  3 :  15-17. 

F.  H.  O.  Marling. 
30.  Subject,  "Wrong  Places."    Gen.  19:  15-26.     Prov.  4  :  14,15. 

R.  F.  DennistOTh 


258  HOW  TO  CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

December. 

7.  Subject,  "  Our   Right  Place,"     Luke  24  :  49.     Mark  8  :  34-38. 
Psa.  16:  5-1 1.  M.  A.  White. 

14.  Subject,  "  Peace  Our  Portion."   John  14 :  27.     Isa.  26  :  3,  4. 

IVm.  H.  Curtis. 
21.  Subject,  "  Christmas  Tidings."  Isa.  9:  6,7.  C.  E.  Marling. 
28.  Subject,  "The  Old  Year's  Lessons."     Psa.  90:  3-17. 

W.  E.  McNeille. 


January. 

4.  Subject,  "The    New  Year's  Promise."     Luke   12:    32.     Isa. 

55  :  8-13.  H.H.  Uhler. 

II.  Subject,  "Casting  Our   Lot."     Heb.    11  :  24-27.      Deut.   34: 

10-12.  W.  B.  Hmdenbeek. 

18.  Subject,  "Our  Defence."     Psa.  5:  11,  12.     Psa.  31 :  r-3. 

W.  A.  Cape. 
25.  Subject,  "  Our  Prayers."     Matt.  6:5-15.  A.  T.  Prentice. 


February. 

I.  Subject,  "A  Wise  Choice."  I.  Kings  3:  5-14.     M.  L.  Stewart. 
8.  Subject,  "  A  Foolish  Choice."     Mark  10  :    17-22. 

M.  P.  Welcher. 
15.  Subject,  "  Peril  of  Choosing  Wrong."    Prov.  i  :  24-33. 

Geo.  L.  Httbbell. 
22.  Subject,  "  Our  Power  for  Good."  Prov.  20  :  29.    Eph  6 :  10-18. 

W.  P.  Uhler. 

March. 

I.  Subject,  "  Our  Power  for  Evil."     I.  Kings  11  :  28  ;  12  :  26-30. 

Eccl.  9:18.  C.y.  Haiilenbeek. 

8.  Subiect,  "  Genuine  Faith."     Matt.  13  :  44-52.      F.  H.  Wisewell. 


SATURDAY  NIGHT   PRAYER-MEETINGS.  259 

15.  Subject,  "  Far-reaching  Faith."  Matt.  9  :  20-30.    C.  Burchard. 
22.  Subject,  "  Practical  Faith."    Jas.  i  :  22-27.  C.  E.  Fladd. 

29.  Subject,  "A  Personal  Saviour."    John  8:  12-28.     H.  H.  Uhler. 

April. 

5.  Subject,  "  Our  Eye  Single."     Matt.  6  :  9-23.     Deut.  5  :    32. 

W.  M.  Lewis, 
12.  Subject,  "  Two  Conditions  Contrasted."     Luke  15:  11-32. 

IV.  Ord. 

19.  Subject,  "  The  Great  Difference."    Isa.  33  :   13-17.     Deut.  32  : 

29-33.  A.  E.  Marling. 

26.  Subject,  "  Indulging  Self."    Luke  14 :  16-24.    Haggai  i  :  4-10. 

J.  Heath. 

May. 

3.  Subject,  "  Covenant  Obligations."    Eccl.  5  :  1-5.  Rom.  6 :  1-5. 

W.  E.  McNeille. 
10.  Subject,  "  Being  Satisfied  with  Truth."     IL  Tim.  4:  1-8. 

A.  F.  Denniston. 
17.  Subject,  "  Prophesying  Evil."     Num.  14:  26-29. 

F.  H.  O.  Marling. 
24.  Subject,  "  Growth  in  Grace."     IL  Pet.  3  :  18.     Mark  4  :  26-32. 

A .  C.  Donaldson. 
31.  Subject,  "  Vacation  Counsel."    Gen.  45:  24.    Jude  21-25. 

F.  A.  Ferris, 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Sunday  Morning  Meetings  for  Prayer. 

HAD  better  put  myself  square  on  the  record  once 
more,  inasmuch  as  so  many  different  kinds  of 
prayer-conferences,  and  times  of  holding  them,  find  a 
description  in  this  book  and  say  that  I  do  not  seri- 
ously propose  that  any  single  church  shall  undertake 
all  of  them,  nor  follow  all  the  suggestions  of  this  book, 
nor  of  the  one  that  preceded  it.  But  what  I  do  mean 
is  this,  that  where  circumstances  are  similar,  such 
meetings  as  are  here  described  can  be  held  to  profit 
on  the  part  of  others,  by  following  the  methods  which 
in  these   cases  have  made  them  successful. 

If  your  church  is  a  praying  church,  like  Gen.  Have- 
lock  it  will  seek  out  places  for  holding  meetings, 
rather  than  to  get  along  with  a  minimum  amount  of 
praying,  and  with  but  one  meeting  a  week. 

Havelock  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  army  that  captured 
Rangoon,  the  capital  of  Burmah,  and  set  free  the 
English  captives  that  had  been  kept  as  prisoners  within 
it.  He  was  then  a  praying  lieutenant,  as  he  afterwards 
was  a  praying  general,  and  the  city  was  no  sooner  in 
260 


SUNDAY   MORNING   MEETINGS    FOR  PRAYER.         261 

the  power  of  the  English  than  he  set  out  to  find  a 
place  that  might  be  used  for  holding  a  prayer-meeting. 
Where  do  you  think  be  found   one  ? 

"  There  was  a  famous  heathen  temple  in  a  retired 
grove,"  we  are  told,  "which  was  devoted  to  the  service 
of  Buddha.  He  secured  one  of  the  chambers  in  it,  a 
large  room  filled  with  images  of  the  gods,  sitting  all 
around, with  their  legs  crossed,  and  arms  folded  on  their 
laps.  One  day  as  an  officer  was  strolling  round  the 
temple,  he  thought  he  heard  the  sound  of  English  sing- 
ing ;  he  stopped  and  hearkened.  A  strange  sound  here 
he  thought ;  but  it  certainly  was  the  sound  of  psalm- 
singing,  in  good  old  English  style.  What  did  it  mean 
—  how  accounted  for?  He  determined  to  follow  the 
sound,  and  behold,  it  led  him  to  an  upper  chamber, 
where  Havelock,  with  his  Bible  and  hymn-book  before 
him,  surrounded  by  more  than  a  hundred  of  his  sol- 
diers, was  holding  a  prayer-meeting.  The  room  was 
dark,  but  every  idol  had  a  lamp  in  his  lap,  shedding 
more  light  than  any  idols  had  ever  done  before.  Did 
he  read  do  you  think,  the  115th  Psalm  for  their  Scrip- 
ture lesson  ? " 

I  desire,  then,  to  intimate,  as  clearly  as  I  can,  that 
each  church  should  make  such  a  selection  of  meetings, 
as  to  number,  times,  means  and  methods,  as  shall  make 
each  and  all  successful  as  to  attendance  and  spiritual 


262  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

good.  I  am  convinced,  also,  that  just  what  may  prove 
successful  with  one  church,  will  not  with  another,  and 
therefore  such  a  large  number  of  actual  meetings  have 
been  inserted  in  these  pages,  that  they  may  serve  as 
hints  to  the  discovery  by  each  church  of  its  largest 
measure  of  spiritual  usefulness. 

A  Sabbath  morning  prayer-meeting  is  held  in  some 
churches  to  acknowledged  good  on  the  part  of  those 
who   attend. 

"  I  have  been  endeavoring,"  writes  Dr.  Payson,  "  to 
establish  among  us  what  are  called  Aaron  and  Hur 
Societies,  i.  e.,  little  collections  of  four  or  five  or  more 
persons,  who  meet  before  service  on  Sabbath  morning, 
to  spend  an  hour  in  prayer  for  a  blessing  on  the  min- 
ister and  the  ordinances.  They  began  on  New  Year's 
Day,  and  we  seemed  to  have  immediate  answer,  for  the 
meeting  was  unusually  solemn  ;  and  we  have  reason  to 
hope  that  the  Word  was  not  preached  in  vain." 

These  Aaron  and  Hur  Societies,  to  which  reference 
is  made,  formed  an  important  feature  in  the  New  Eng- 
land revival  of  1799. 

"  The  flame  (of  revival)  at  once  caught,"  wrote  Judge 
Boudinot,  to  Judge  Reeve,  in  giving  a  sketch  of  them, 
"  the  hearts  of  the  truly  pious  among  us.  The  next 
Sabbath  morning  a  number  agreed  to  form  a  society 
to  meet  at  nine  o'clock,  and  spend  an  hour  previous  to 


SUNDAY  MORNING  MEETINGS   FOR  PRAYER.         263 

going  to  church  in  prayer  to  God  for  his  blessing  on 
the  Word.  They  styled  themselves  the  Aaron  and  Hur 
Society,  as  supporting  the  hands  of  their  minister.  It 
was  not  long  before  the  blessed  work  pervaded  every 
part  of  the  congregation." 

Knowing  that  a  meeting  of  this  class  was  kept  up 
by  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Indianapolis, 
I  addressed  a  note  to  Dea.  O.  K.  Coe  for  a  brief  his- 
tory of  it,  and  received  in  reply  the  following  succinct 
statement : 

"In  regard  to  our  Sabbath  morning  meeting,  I 
would  say,"  he  writes,  "  it  started  some  twenty-five 
years  ago  when  Henry  Ward  Beecher  was  pastor,  by 
a  few  members  of  the  church  coming  in  at  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  and  spending  an  hour  in 
praying,  singing,  and  in  social  converse.  It  has  been 
kept  up  without  interruption  since  then.  Quite  a  num- 
ber of  its  original  members  have  died,  but  others  have 
come  in  to  fill  their  places.  All  who  attend  this  meet- 
ing love  it  and  prize  it  as  a  valuable  spiritual  help. 
The  manner  of  conducting  it  has  been  quite  different 
from  time  to  time.  Six  years  ago,  when  I  joined  it, 
the  plan  was  to  have  a  leader  who  started  some  subject 
to  talk  and  pray  about,  and  at  the  close  he  would  ap- 
point some  one  to  take  charge  of  the  next  meeting, 
and  so  on ;  but,  lately,  we  have  dropped  that  plan,  and 


264  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

we  now  take  the  subject  on  our  printed  topic  list  for 
the  next  Thursday  evening  meeting.  We  read  the 
chapter  from  which  the  verse  is  taken  in  the  topic  list, 
and  then  use  perfect  freedom  in  talking  on  the  subject, 
and  thereby  get  many  useful  hints  for  the  coming 
week-day  prayer-meeting  of  the  church.  We  have  all 
found  it  an  excellent  help  in  starting  us  right  for  the 
Sabbath  services,  in  preparing  the  heart  for  hearing, 
and  in  looking  for  immediate  spiritual  blessing.  It 
proves  itself  thus,  in  the  experience  of  us  all,  to  be 
one  of  the  most  profitable  meetings  of  the  week." 

What  a  great  help  to  the  preacher  such  a  praying 
band  as  this  must  prove  !  He  cannot  but  feel  that  he 
is  preaching  in  a  warm  and  loving  spiritual  atmosphere, 
and  that  the  field  is  made  ready  for  the  sowing  of  the 
seed.  Let  us  suppose  that  the  pastor,  likewise,  has ' 
prepared  himself  for  the  preaching,  as  these  have  for 
hearing,  by  a  season  of  close  communion  with  God 
in  prayer,  and  will  he  not,  like  Whitefield  on  similar 
occasions,  go  from  the  study  and  the  closet  to  the 
pulpit  and  thepeople  "as  if  there  was  a  rainbow  about 
his  head  ?" 

"  And  Moses  said  unto  Joshua,  choose  us  out  men 
and  go  out  to  fight  with  Amalek :  to-morrow  I  will  stand 
on  the  top  of  the  hill  with  the  rod  of  God  in  my  hand. 
So  Joshua  did  as  Moses  had  said  to  him,  and  fought 


SUNDAY   MORNING    MEETINGS   FOR   PRAYER.        265 

with  Amalek :  and  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Hur  went  up  to 
the  top  of  the  hill.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Moses 
held  up  his  hand  that  Israel  prevailed ;  and  when  he  let 
down  his  hand,  Amalek  prevailed.  But  Moses'  hands 
were  heavy ;  and  they  took  a  stone,  and  put  it  under 
him,  and  he  sat  thereon :  and  Aaron  and  Hur  stayed 
up  his  hands,  the  one  on  the  one  side,  and  the  other 
on  the  other  side  :  and  his  hands  were  steady  until  the 
going  down  of  the  sun." 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

Children's  Inquiry  and  Prayer-Meeting. 

IT  has  been  a  complaint  that  by  far  too  Httle  attention 
has  been  given  by  pastors  to  special  reUgious  ser- 
vices for  children.  "  No  longer  ago  than  1855,"  remarks 
Rev.  H.  Clay  Trumbull,  "  in  the  preface  to  a  collec- 
tion of  sermons  to  youth  chiefly  from  English  ministers, 
published  by  Carlton  and  Porter,  under  the  title  of 
*  The  Child's  Preacher,'  the  editor  remarked,  in  expla- 
nation of  the  fact  that  but  little  of  the  material  was 
supplied  by  American  ministers,  '  that  we  have  not 
similar  contributions  from  other  American  preachers  is 
not  because  we  have  failed  to  solicit  them.  The  truth 
is  that  American  ministers  have  as  yet  written  but  few 
sermons  to  children ;  and,  indeed,  have  preached  quite 
too  few.'  Even  at  the  present  time  it  is  not  uncommon 
for  a  pastor  to  refer  to  his  inability  to  preach  fittingly 
to  children,  as  though  it  were  after  all  a  matter  of  no 
serious  moment.  '  I  confess  I  cannot  preach  to  chil- 
dren,' or  '  I  have  no  tact  in  that  line  '  is  uttered  much 
as  would  be  the  statement  '  I  have  never  studied  Ital- 
ian,' or  '  I  have  no  special  fondness  for  chemistry,  or 
266 


children's  inquiry  and  prayer-meeting.      267 

mechanics.'  Says  the  Rev.  H.  C.  McCook,  in  the  S.  S. 
Times,  '  I  once  asked  a  reverend  doctor  of  divinity, 
who  was  present  in  my  Sunday-School,  to  talk  to  the 
children.  "  I  never  talk  to  children  !  "  That  was  the 
answer,  with  an  expressive  shake  of  the  head,  and  a 
matter-of-surprise-and-of-course  sort  of  tone,  that  sent 
me  away  humble  and  sorry  for  my  offending.  I  felt 
as  though  I  ought  to  apologize  !  Is  not  such  a  treat- 
ment of  this  matter  more  common  than  excusable  ?  ' " 

There  are  at  present  some  very  successful  preachers 
to  children,  such  as  Dr.  Tyng,  Dr.  Newton,  Rev.  E.  P. 
Hammond,  and  Rev.  E.  M.  Long,  who  have  preached 
regularly  to  children,  either  once  each  Sabbath,  or  once 
each  month,  and  though  their  numbers  are  increasing, 
it  is  still  by  no  means  a  regular  custom  in  all  our 
churches.  I  am  convinced  that  the  cause  of  religion 
suffers  from  this  neglect  of  the  children.  As  pastors 
we  should  seek  and  labor  and  pray  for  their  early  and 
immediate  conversion.  Dr.  Spencer,  whose  pastorate 
was  very  successful,  made  it  a  rule  to  especially  look 
after  the  religious  interests  of  the  young  and  of  the 
old  above  sixty,  and  he  attributed  much  of  his  suc- 
cess to  that  principle  of  pastoral  work. 

Many  valuable  suggestions  for  work  among  children 
will  be  found  in  Mr.  Trumbull's  book  on  "  The  Chil- 
dren in  the  Temple."     After  having  described  a  variety 


268  HOW  TO  CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

of  children's  services,  he  takes  up  the  heading  of  our 
chapter  and  goes  on  to  say,  "  that  some  of  the  most 
successful  workers  among  children,  seldom  or  never 
preach  without  holding  an  inquiry-meeting  at  the  close 
of  the  service  —  a  meeting  at  which  the  children  may 
be  separately  addressed  and  counselled  by  intelligent 
followers  of  Christ. 

"The  prominence  which  efforts  of  this  character 
have  obtained,  indicates  the  readiness  of  the  church 
to  avail  itself  of  such  an  agency.  God  has  seemingly 
prepared  the  way  by  his  Spirit  and  providence  for  this 
mode  of  working  to  bring  little  ones  into  his  fold. 
There  has  been  a  felt  want  of  personal  contact  of  the 
preacher  with  the  soul  preached  to.  Says  Dr.  Duryea, 
in  pressing  the  advantages  enjoyed  by  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher,  '  while  the  minister  is  teaching  all  about 
the  Gospel,  here  is  a  soul  that  wants  a  direct  applica- 
tion of  the  Gospel.  The  religious  teaching  from  the 
pulpit  is  not  sufficient.  There  must  be  a  special 
teaching  mouth  to  ear,  mind  to  mind,  heart  to  heart. 
Just  as  a  student  of  medicine  may  want  to  lecture  on 
medicine,  but  a  sick  man  knowing  his  sickness,  wants 
a  prescription,  so  the  Christian  student  may  want  a 
lecture  on  religion,  but  he  wants  again  and  again  a 
prescription,  for  his  soul.'  And  while  the  minister  has 
thus   prized   the    privileges   of   the   class-teacher,   that 


children's  inquiry  and  prayer-meeting.      269 

teacher  has  not  been  without  a  longing  for  yet  other 
advantages  in  his  efforts  to  win   the  young  to  Jesus. 

"  *  Many  a  zealous  Sunday-school  teacher,'  says  an 
English  worker,  on  Mr.  Hammond's  plan,  '  has  doubt- 
less often  felt  the  need  of  something  supplimentary  to 
the  ordinary  class-teaching  and  school  services  —  some- 
thing calculated  to  give  every  scholar  a  medium  of 
sympathy  and  heart  contact  with  his  teacher.  He  has 
felt  sure  that  there  were  some  dear  scholars  in  his  class 
who  were  secret  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  others 
whose  minds  were  evidently  impressed  with  Divine 
truth ;  and  often  has  he  longed  for  some  kind  of  mag- 
net, so  to  speak,  which  would  irresistibly  draw  forth 
from  the  anxious  a  candid  confession  of  their  state 
of  mind.  There  is  about  our  present  Sunday-school 
system  an  amount  of,  perhaps  necessary,  order  and 
formality,  which  prevents  him  from  seeing  the  fruit  of 
his  labors  and  fails  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  elicit- 
ing what  impressions  have  been  made  on  the  minds  of 
his  scholars.'  He  there  argues  in  favor  of  the  chil- 
drens'  meetings  instituted  by  Mr.  Hammond,  and  ad- 
duces reasons  for  believing  '  that  in  these  children's  ser- 
vices and  inquiry-meetings,  is  to  be  found  the  long 
missing  link.'  And  the  meetings  thus  commended  are 
more  fully  described,  as  follows  : 

" '  The  services  are  held  in  the  school-room  of  Surrey 


270  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

Chapel  (Newman  Hall's),  on  Sunday  evening,  at  half- 
past  six,  and  on  Tuesday  evening  at  seven.  On  Sun- 
day the  attendance  averages  about  three  hundred,  and 
would  be  larger  if  all  applicants  were  admitted.  On 
Tuesday  there  are  generally  from  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty.  In  conducting  these  meetings  the 
aim  has  been  to  make  them  as  varied  and  interesting  as 
possible,  and  to  bring  all  the  exercises  down  to  the 
capacity  of  the  children.  The  prayers  and  addresses 
are  exceedingly  short  and  simple.  There  is  plenty  of 
singing  and  the  tunes  are  lively,  many  of  the  hymns 
having  a  chorus. 

"  '  But  the  characteristic  feature  of  the  services,  and 
the  one  which  we  think  has  been  most  productive  of 
good,  is  that  which  is  called,  for  want,  I  think,  of  a 
better  name,  the  inquiry-meeting.  At  the  close  of 
the  preliminary  meeting  an  invitation  is  given  to  the 
children  who  love  Jesus,  and  those  who  want  to  love 
Jesus,  to  remain  behind  that  the  teachers  may  talk  to 
them  and  pray  with  them.  About  half — or  sometimes 
two-thirds  —  will  stop,  and  the  rest  leave  while  a  hymn 
is  being  sung.  The  teachers  and  friends  present,  then 
gather  classes  around  them,  and,  without  taking  any 
formal  lesson  or  subject,  speak  to  the  children  simply 
and  earnestly  about  heavenly  things,  and  strive  to 
impress  on  them  individually,  and  personally,  the  duty 


children's  inquiry  and  prayer-meeting.      271 

of  giving  their  hearts  to  the  Saviour.  There  is  not 
much  order  or  arrangement  about  these  classes — • 
teachers  speak  to  the  children  nearest  them,  or  to 
any  they  may  see  —  but  those  who  come  regularly  often 
get  the  same  children  from  week  to  week.'  " 

"  The  most  satisfactory  results  are  reported  from  sim- 
ilar meetings  in  other  parts  of  Great  Britain,  and  like 
services  have  been  richly  blessed  in  various  portions  of 
this  country.  Such  an  agency,  coming  thus  approved, 
should  not  be  lightly  passed  by,  by  those  desiring  the 
greatest  good  of  the  children. 

"  House,  and  Pardee,  and  other  American  writers,  on 
Sunday-school  themes,  commend  warmly  regular  prayer- 
meetings  for  the  children,  and  many  pastors  and  super- 
intendents make  much  of  them.  '  Some  of  our  Sunday- 
schools,'  says  Pardee,  '  hold  such  a  meeting  at  the  close 
of  each  afternoon  session.'  The  boys  and  the  girls 
being  in  separate  rooms,  under  leaders  of  their  own 
sex,  respectively,  '  the  meeting  opens  with  singing  a 
familiar  hymn,  and  then  a  few  appropriate  verses  and 
remarks  just  adapted  to  kindle  devotion  in  the  little 
hearts,  and  then  the  little  prayers  follow  freely  and 
almost  spontaneously.  They  soon  learn  to  love  to 
pray,  and  pray  in  real  faith  too,  for  the  whole  life  of  a 
little  child  is  a  life  of  faith.'  " 

"  In   some   churches   at   the  West,    an   organization 


2/2  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

known  as  '  The  Faithful  Band,'  gathers  young  be- 
lievers for  culture  in  the  Christian  life.  This  resembles 
the  Methodist  class-meeting  in  its  main  features,  and 
serves  as  a  training  school  for  youthful  disciples,  direct- 
ing them  to  active  effort  for  other  souls,  while  aiding 
them  in  the  cultivation  of  grace  in  their  own  renewed 
hearts. 

"  Thus,  in  various  ways,  the  children  are  finding  their 
proper  place  in  the  temple,  and  their  part  in  its  ser- 
vices. Through  Bible  study  and  recitation,  in  prayer 
and  praise,  as  listeners  to  the  preached  word  and  to  its 
application  to  their  individual  consciences,  as  helpers 
of  each  other  in  the  divine  life,  and  as  workers  together 
with  each  other  with  Jesus,  they  are  being  won  to  the 
Redeemer  and  upreared  in  his  service.  So  are  being 
answered  the  prayer  of  the  Psalmist,  and  of  so  many 
who  have  come  after  him,  '  That  our  sons  may  be  as 
plants  grown  up  in  their  youth ;  that  our  daughters  may 
be  as  corner-stones,  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a 
palace.'  " 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Cottage  Prayer-Meetings. 
And  How  To  Conduct  Them. 

OCIAL  meetings  of  this  kind  are  known  by  various 
names,  such  as  cottage,  or  neighborhood  prayer- 
meetings.     Their  especial  object  is  to  visit  those  who 
never  or  rarely  attend  tlie  social  meetings  of  the  church. 
Besides  the  unconverted,  there  are  aged  and  sick  per- 
sons, who   do   not  attend  these   mid-week    gatherings. 
Their  field  then  is  to  induce  neglecters  of  public  wor- 
ship to  become  regular  attendants,  to  institute  meetings 
in  places  of  destitution   and   neglect  (such  as  the  ten- 
ement  houses),    and   to    bring   the   means  of  grace  to 
those,  who   by  reason  of  infirmity,  are  kept  at   home. 
It  might,   therefore,  be  a  good  plan  for  each  church 
during  the  winter  months,  when  life  is  necessarily  more 
within  doors,  to  hold  weekly  or  bi-weekly  meetings  on 
Friday  evenings,  if  the  way  be  clear,  at  the  homes  of 
the  membership,  to  be  led  by  competent  persons,  with 
or   without   the    attendance    of  the   pastor,  as  may  be 
deemed  most  convenient.     I   am  sure  such  a  practice 
as  this  would  tend  to  elevate  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
273 


274  HOW  TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

church,  as  well  as  greatly  sanctify  the  homes  of  your 
membership.  It  would  draw  your  people  nearer  to- 
gether and  intensify  their  religious  experience  and 
communion.     Try  it. 

For  the  following  wise  suggestions  on  methods  and 
objects  for  the  ordinary  meetings  of  this  class,  I  am 
indebted  to  Mr.  C.  H.  Whiting,  formerly  of  Burlington, 
Iowa,  and  now  secretary  of  railroad  work  at  Detroit, 
Mich. : 

"  The  importance  of  this  branch  of  our  work  cannot 
be  overestimated.  Especially  after  having  left  us  the 
noble  example  of  the  Apostles  in  the  early  church 
(Acts  V.  42)  '  And  in  every  house  they  ceased  not  to 
teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ.'  Also  we  have  the 
command  of  the  Great  Teacher  (Mark  xvi.  15)  '  Go 
ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature.'  The  work  is  important,  then,  because  thus 
commanded.  And  although  in  most  places  in  our  land, 
we  have  churches  sufficiently  large  to  accommodate 
almost  the  entire  population,  still  many,  I  might  say 
the  majority,  are,  from  growing  habits  from  childhood 
of  indifference,  or  prejudice  against  them,  seldom  if 
ever  found  within  the  sacred  walls  of  God's  house. 
The  work  is  important,  then,  because  many  would  per- 
haps never  hear  the  '  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,' 
without  this  means  of  grace.     It  is  also  important,  be- 


COTTAGE    PRAYER-MEETINGS.  275 

cause  it  develops  Christian  workers,  and  stimulates 
them.  There  are  many  young  men,  Christians,  whose 
hearts  are  burning  with  love  to  their  Saviour,  and  who 
yearn  to  do  something  for  Him,  but  who  do  not  feel 
capable  of  undertaking  many  of  the  kinds  of  Christian 
work  by  which  they  are  surrounded  :  who,  by  attending 
these  meetings,  are  led,  ere  long,  to  speak  a  word 
for  Christ,  and  before  hardly  aware  of  it,  are  doing 
the  Master's  will,  and  developing  into  earnest,  zealous 
Christian  workers. 

"  It  is  also  important  because  it  incites  families  to 
read  and  study  God's  Word,  with  whom  heretofore  it 
has  been  almost  entirely  neglected.  The  children,  too, 
who  are  frequently  in  attendance  at  these  meetings, 
are  also  interested  in  Bible  study  and  are  brought  into 
the  Sabbath-schools,  as  not  unfrequently  mission  Sab- 
bath-schools are  started  out  of  neighborhoods  where 
meetings  have  been  held. 

"  How  to  Start  a  Cottage-Meeting. 

"  There  being  in  this,  as  in  all  kinds  of  Christian 
work,  discouragements,  those  undertaking  it  should  fully 
appreciate,  and  have  implicit  faith  in  the  precious  prom- 
ises given  us  in  the  Word  of  God,  and  should  seek 
importunately,  that  best  of  gifts,  which   our  heavenly 


276  HOW   TO    CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

Father  is  so  ready  to  bestow  upon  us,  viz  :  tlie  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  In  starting  a  cottage-meeting,  the  aim  should  be  to 
take  the  blessed  Gospel  of  Christ  into  the  neglected 
portions  of  our  towns  and  cities ;  into  families  that 
seldom  if  ever  attend  any  of  the  stated  means  of  grace. 
To  accomplish  this,  those  that  enter  upon  this  work 
should  take  a  district  in  which  they  desire  to  work, 
visiting  each  house,  ascertaining  from  the  several  fami- 
lies whether  they  would  like  a  meeting  at  their  houses 
or  not;  at  same  time  asking  if  there  should  be  a  meet- 
ing held  in  the  neighborhood,  if  they  would  attend ; 
telling  them  the  singing  would  be  good,  and  that  the 
meetings  are  being  carried  on  by  no  particular  denom- 
ination, by  the  Young  Mens'  Christian  Association  (as 
in  some  cases  were  you  to  go  from  a  particular  church, 
admittance  would  not  be  gained).  In  some  instances 
definite  answers  cannot  be  given  at  once.  Then  give 
time  for  advisement,  telling  them  you  would  call  again. 
And  call  after  reasonable  time.  When  once  admittance 
is  gained  into  a  house,  ask  the  persons  at  whose  house 
the  meeting  is  held,  to  invite  all  their  neighbors  and 
friends.  At  same  time  it  would  be  well  to  visit  those 
families  already  visited,  telling  them  of  the  meeting ; 
where  it  would  be  and  when,  urging  them  to  attend. 
Appoint  the  meeting  at  a  house  when  it  will  be  con- 


COTTAGE  PRAYER-MEETINGS.  277 

venient  for  all  house-keepers  in  the  vicinity  to  attend. 
Then  commence  the  meeting  promptly  on  time,  as 
always  by  negligence  in  commencing  a  meeting  (if  once 
done)  persons  are  likely  to  think  '  well  it  isn't  of 
much  importance  whether  I  am  at  the  meeting  at  the 
exact  time  or  not,  as  they  seldom  ever  commence  on 
time.'  At  least  two  that  can  take  part  should  make 
it  a  point  to  be  present  at  each  meeting,  and  one  should 
be  able  to  conduct  the  singing. 

"  How  To  Cojiduct  Them  ? 

"  In  conducting  these  meetings  a//  stereotyped  metn- 
ods  or  plans  should  be  discarded,  varying  the  services 
as  much  as  possible.  Make  the  singing  a  prominent 
feature,  having  the  hymns  selected  before  the  meeting, 
so  that  everything  may  move  along  in  orderly  manner. 
Never  read  a  Scripture  lesson  so  long,  that  the  chil- 
dren present  will  become  restless.  Nor  so  low,  or  so 
fast,  that  the  eldest  cannot  hear  distinctly  what  is 
read.  Let  the  Gospel  truths  be  briefly  but  very  plainly 
stated,  and  the  plan  of  salvation  made  so  plain  that 
the  children  may  understand  it.  Bible  readings  are 
very  profitably  used.  But  in  new  districts  it  is  often 
difficult  to  get  the  persons  attending  to  take  part,  as 
many  will  be  found  (among  the  ladies  and  elderly 
persons)  who  are  not  in  the   habit  of  reading  or  speak- 


27S  HOW  TO   CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

ing ;  SO  that  when  Bible  readings  are  used  the  leader 
or  leaders  should  have  the  passages  so  marked  in  their 
own  Bibles,  as  to  be  able  to  turn  readily  to  them. 
After  having  held  meetings  some  time  in  a  district 
where  nearly  all  have  learned  the  tunes  sufficiently 
well  to  take  a  lively  part  in  them,  a  praise  and  prayer- 
meeting  can  be  advantageously  used.  Setting  before 
them  the  thanksgiving  and  praise  that  is  comely  — 
Heb.  13.  15  —  'By  Him  therefore  let  us  offer  the  sac- 
rifice of  praise  to  God  continually  :  that  is  the  fruit  of 
our  lips  giving  thanks  to  His  name.'  Encouraging 
those  present  to  take  part  by  repeating  some  verse 
of  Scripture  bearing  on  the  subject ;  by  remarks,  or  by  • 
request  for  prayer,  aim  to  make  the  services  pleasant, 
cheerful  and  informal  as  possible. 

"  Do  not  be  discouraged  if  only  t^vo  or  three  are 
gathered  together,  you  have  enough  to  claim  ''the 
promise.^  Large  meetings  are  not  essential  to  success. 
Close  the  meeting  within  the  hour.  If  it  has  been  very 
interesting  so  much  the  better.  Close  it  and  keep 
up  the  interest.  After  which  try  and  secure  a  few 
words  of  personal  conversation  with  those  present. 
Especially  those  who  appear  to  be  interested. 

'■'■How  to  Maintain  Them 
"  Never  disappoint  the  people  by  failure  to  be  pres- 


COTTAGE  PRAYER-MEETINGS.  279 

ent  at  the  appointed  time  ;  no  matter  what  the  weather 
is,  let  it  be  understood  you  will  be  on  hand.  Nothing 
will  so  quickly  or  effectually  kill  a  meeting,  as  to  let 
it  go  by  default.  As  before  stated,  have  the  time  of 
commencing,  understood  by  all.  The  leader  should 
be  present  at  least  five  minutes  before  time,  to  open 
it.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  have  printed  or  written  invita- 
tions, and  distribute  them  either  on  the  day  of  the 
meeting  or  afterwards,  to  those  present  to  give  out, 
for  the  week  following ;  and  through  them  reach  the 
neigl'iborhood.  Visit  those  especially  interested  during 
the  week.  Also  any  who  may  be  sick  among  them. 
Religious  newspapers  and  tracts  being  distributed  at 
the  close  of  the  meetings.  Illustrated  Sunday-school 
pajDers  to  the  children  are  the  means  of  great  good; 
and  interest  many  in  the  meetings,  as  they  feel  you 
have  some  interest  in  them.  After  the  meeting,  before 
leaving  the  house,  try  and  make  the  acquaintance  of 
those  present  by  shaking  hands  with  them,  as  they 
pass  out ;  thanking  them  for  their  presence  and  good 
attention  and  asking  them  to  come  again,  as  often, 
on  account  of  backwardness,  and  a  lack  of  cordiality 
on  the  part  of  those  at  whose  house  the  meeting  is 
held,  some  feel  awkward  and  strange,  and  are  not  likely 
.to  return  again." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  Family  JVIeeting   for  Worship. 

THE  practice  of  morning  and  evening  prayer  in 
the  family,  is  a  general  custom  in  the  households 
of  evangelical  Christians.  No  one  ought  to  consider 
his  piety  of  an  active  stamp  who  neglects  to  institute 
the  church  in  his  house. 

First,  it  is  a  duty.  The  casual  reader  of  the  Scrip- 
tures will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  the  Bible  nowhere 
directly  commands  family  worship.  Is  it  therefore  an 
act  of  supererogation }  Not  at  all.  It  is  a  duty  by 
inference.  When  Abraham  moved  his  tent  to  the 
plain  of  Mamre,  he  built  there  also  an  altar  unto  the 
Lord — Gen.  13:  18.  This  was  an  altar  for  family 
worship  nigh  his  tent.  The  truly  pious  take  their 
religion  and  its  active  duties  with  them  wherever  they 
dwell  or  sojourn.  When  David  says,  "  Seven  times  a 
day  do  I  praise  Thee,"  we  are  to  remember  in  explain- 
ing its  meaning  that  during  his  day  there  ,was  no 
temple  in  Jerusalem,  and  that  at  least  two  of  these 
seven  times  may  refer  to  morning  and  evening  worship 
at  the  family  altar. 
280 


THE   FAMILY   MEETING   FOR   WORSHIP.  281 

Matthew  Henry  remarks  upon  Dan.  6 :  lo,  that  the 
beloved  prophet  "  prayed  in  his  house,  sometimes  him- 
self alone,  and  sometimes  with  his  family  about  him  ;  " 
and  on  Acts  lo :  30,  that  Cornelius  likewise  was  a 
man  that  prayed  in  his  house.  "  Every  house  not  only 
may  be,  but  ought  to  be,  a  house  of  prayer  ;  where  we 
have  a  tent  God  must  have  an  altar,  and  on  it  we 
must  offer  spiritual  sacrifices." 

Paul  has  highly  honored  his  faithful  friends,  Pris- 
cilla  and  Aquila,  by  twice  writing  about  the  church 
that  was  in  their  house.  Rom.  16:3,  and  I.  Cor. 
16  :  19.  What  a  beautiful  compliment  is  paid  to  their 
worth  by  this  designation.  Some  have  beautifully 
interpreted  this  to  refer  to  family  worship — "their 
home  was  a  sanctuary  and  their  family  a  church."  I 
would  not  insist  upon  this  as  its  full  and  exclusive 
meaning ;  but  if  others,  and  among  them,  the  early 
Christians,  were  in  the  habit  of  meeting  in  some  family 
for  worship,  may  we  not  believe  that  the  family  itself 
met  for  worship  ? 

At  all  events,  we  may  claim  that  family  prayer  con- 
forms to  the  command,  and  is  entitled  to  the  promise 
of  James  4:8,  "  Draw  nigh  to  God  and  He  will 
draw  nigh  to  you."  We  may  also  infer  that  it  is  a 
duty  by  example.     It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the 


282  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

deeply  pious  in  all  times  have  prayed  with  and  for 
their  families  in  their  households. 

"Abraham,  Joshua,  David,  Job,  Daniel,"  says  Mat- 
thew Henry,  "  all  worshipped  God  in  the  family,  and 
our  Saviour  confirmed  the  obligation ;  for  He  often 
prayed  with  His  disciples  as  His  family  or  house- 
hold." 

Secondly,  it  is  a  privilege.  Family  prayer  binds  the 
household  more  closely  and  lovingly  together.  It  is  a 
great  boon  to  consecrate  the  day  with  prayer,  before 
the  household  separates  on  its  divers  ways,  and  on  its 
manifold  duties.  What  if  they  should  never  all  meet 
again  ?  To  have  omitted  it  on  such  a  day  —  the  day 
of  accident  and  separation  —  would  prove  a  lasting 
regret.  How  precious  at  night,  ere  kindly  sleep  en- 
wraps us  all  with  its  mantle,  to  commit  our  souls  and 
bodies  to  that  Guardian  of  Israel  who  neither  slumbers 
nor  sleeps,  as  well  as  to  render  thanks  for  the  mercies 
and  special  providences  of  the  closing  day,  for  its  op- 
portunities to  do  good,  and  supplicate  the  divine 
forgiveness  upon  all  its  transgressions.  This  gives 
a  gracious  opportunity  to  pray  with  our  children  and 
for  our  children. 

"Family  worship,"  observes  the  sainted  Cecil,  "may 
be  used  as  an  engine  of  vast  power  in  a  family.  It 
diffuses  a  sympathy   through  the    members.     It   calls 


%       THE   FAMILY  MEETING   FOR   WORSHIP.  283 

the  mind  off  from  the  deadening  effects  of  worldly 
affairs.  It  arrests  every  member  with  a  morning  and 
evening  sermon,  in  tlie  midst  of  all  the  hurries  and 
cares  of  life.  It  says,  '  There  is  a  God  !  '  '  There  is 
a  spiritual  world  ! '  '  There  is  a  life  to  come  !  '  It 
fixes  the  idea  of  responsibility  in  the  mind.  It  fur- 
nishes a  tender  and  judicious  father  or  master  with 
an  opportunity  of  gently  glancing  at  faults,  where  a 
direct  admonition  might  be  inexpedient.  It  enables 
him  to  relieve  the  weight  with  which  subordination  or 
service  sits  on  minds  of  inferiors." 

Dr.  C.  L.  Thompson,  editor  of  The  Interior  and 
pastor  of  the  Third  Church,  Pittsburgh,  has  given 
some  very  pertinent  hints  in  an  article  on  "  Family 
WorshijD,"  which  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  transcribe 
and  incorporate  with  this  chapter.  He  first  describes 
two  ways  in  which  it  is  common  to  conduct  —  either 
with  undue  haste  or  tedious  length  —  and  then  goes 
on  to  outline  a  happy  medium  : 

"  If  it  is  morning,"  he  says,  "  there  is  plenty  of  time, 
for  it ;  if  in  the  evening,  it  is  right  after  supper,  before 
the  sleejDy  time.  If  there  is  a  piano  in  the  house,  one 
of  the  daughters  takes  her  place  there,  a  little  one 
distributes  the  books.  There  is  an  air  of  animation 
in  the  household  as  if  something  pleasant  were  going 


284  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS.       ♦ 

to  be  done.  A  hymn  is  given  out.  It  is  not  '  China ' 
or  *  Hamburg.'  It  is  something  with  life  in  its  move- 
ment as  well  as  religion  in  its  words.  Every  voice 
joins.  Even  the  baby  has  caught  the  sounds,  and 
sings,  if  not  correctly,  at  least  heartily.  True,  she 
sometimes  makes  a  comical  mistake  in  the  words. 
The  other  evening  she  misinterpreted  '  stranded  wreck  ' 
and  after  the  manner  of  the  world  sang  lustily,  'Leave 
the  poor  old  strangled  wretch  and  pull  for  the  shore.' 
Then  the  children  laughed.  No  matter.  There  was 
no  irreverence  there,  and  the  song  went  piously  on. 
The  singing  over,  each  one  opens  his  Bible,  and  the 
reading  is  either  responsive  or  around  the  circle,  from 
the  oldest  to  the  youngest.  Sometimes  there  is  no 
reading  at  all,  but  a  recitation  in  concert,  or  the  offer- 
ing of  a  verse  from  memory  by  each  in  turn. 

"  Then  —  that  a  collection  being  learned  at  it,  may 
not  be  regarded  as  an  impertinence  at  church  —  the 
baby  passes  a  little  box  to  receive  the  pennies  that 
are  eagerly  saved  for  this  benevolent  fund.  The 
prayer  that  follows  is  not  stereotyped.  It  is  made  up 
out  of  daily  experiences  and  wants.  It  touches  every 
family  interest.  It  is  plain  to  the  little  child.  It  im- 
presses all  with  the  idea  that  God  is  the  God  of  the 
house,  and  that  his  service  is  a  joy  and  not  a  burden. 


THE   FAMILY   MEETING   FOR   WORSHIP.  285 

And,  then,  perhaps  it  closes  with  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
repeated  in  concert  —  not  hurriedly  nor  pompously, 
but  the  joint  loving  appeal  of  the  family  to  the  '  Father 
in  Heaven.'  And  children  who  look  back  from  the 
toil  of  after  years  to  such  a  family  altar,  see  it  shin- 
ing with  countless  sustaining  influences,  and  wreathed 
with  tender  and  deathless  memories."    Sure  enough. 

In  some  denominations  there  are  certain  standards 
of  faith  which  parents  are  anxious  their  children  should 
learn.  A  question  in  the  catechism  might  be  com- 
mitted to  memory  each  day,  and  repeated  at  family 
worship  the  next  morning,  either  unitedly  or  sepa- 
rately,, and  then  a  few  remarks  might  be  made  to  illus- 
trate its  meaning  for  the  benefit  of  the  children.  It 
would  take  less  than  a  3'ear  to  go  through  the  cate- 
chism in  this  way,  and  thoroughly  entrust  its  contents 
to  the  memory. 

I  have  been  informed  that  it  was  a  custom  in  the 
family  of  Gov.  Hendrick's  father  to  ask,  and  answer 
in  rotation,  questions  from  the  Westminster  Shorter 
Catechism.  For  instance,  the  father  would  ask  the 
person  sitting  next  to  him  on  the  right : 

"  What  is  the  chief  end  of  man  ?  " 

The  answer  being  correctly  given,  the  one  who  gave 
it  would  immediately  ask  the  one  next  to  him  : 


286  HOW   TO     CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

"What  rule  hath  God  given  to  direct  us  how  we 
may  glorify  and  enjoy  him  ?  " 

In  this  way  they  would  go  round  the  circle,  and  in 
the  course  of  time  acquire  as  great  a  familiarity  with 
the  famous  one  hundred  and  seven  questions  and 
answers  of  that  catechism  as  with  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet. 

There  is  thus  a  great  variety  of  methods  by  which 
to  enliven  the  family  reading  and  recitation  at  morn- 
ing and  evening  prayers,  that  will  fill  the  moments 
with  delighful  instruction,  and  at  the  same  time  relieve 
them  of  all  monotony,  repetition  and  tedium. 

Now  there  may  be  some  who,  for  one  reason  or 
another,  cannot  profitably  lead  the  family  in  extem- 
pore prayer,  who  would  find  it  not  less  a  cross  than 
a  failure,  to  whom  we  would  recommend  the  use  of 
printed  forms  or  studies  in  prayer.  Entered  into 
heartily,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  service  may  not 
be  fruitful  of  spiritual  good.  At  all  events  the  reading 
of  prayers  in  the  family  is  better  than  no  prayers  at 
all.  Any  bookseller  can  furnish  the  applicant  with 
excellent  books  of  this  kind,  such  as  Jay's  "  Morning  " 
and  "  Evening "  Exercises,  so  that  no  one,  whatever 
his  gifts,  need  omit  this  delightful  service. 

Are  you   a  prayerless   Christian  ?     Do  you  pray  in 


THE   FAMILY   MEETING   FOR   WORSHIP.  287 

secret?  Do  you  keep  the  fires  burning  brightly  and 
continually  upon  the  family  altar?  Do  you  excuse 
yourself  because  of  non-ability,  or  lack  of  confidence  ? 
Do  you  make  the  family  meeting  for  worship  cheerful 
with  song,  instructive  with  Scripture,  hallowed  with 
prayer,  and  precious  in  all  its  memories  ? 


CHAPTER  XXXIT. 

The  Fulton  Street  Noonday  Prayer-Meeting. 

WE  have  already  referred  to  the  origin  of  this 
meeting.  Some  very  interesting  particulars 
connected  with  its  organization  and  work  were  elicited 
in  an  interview  which  the  Rev.  J.  K.  Funk*  had  with 
Mr.  Lanphier,  one  of  its  founders. 

"  My  early  education."  said  Mr.  Lanphier,  "  was  ne- 
glected. I  learned  the  tailor  trade  in  Albany.  After- 
ward 1  started  business  in  this  city.  I  was  not  a 
Christian,  but  was  a  strict  moral  man.  Finally,  I  was 
made  to  see  that  I  was  a  sinner  and  needed  to  be 
born  again.  One  day,  at  the  hour  of  noon,  I  found 
peace  by  believing  in  Christ. 

"  Ever  after,  the  hour  of  noon  was  sacred.  It  was  to 
me  a  sweet  hour  of  prayer.     In  1857,  an  elder  of  this 

*Rev.  Mr.  Funk  is  the  editor  of  The  Preacher  and  Homeletic 
Monthly,  New  York,  and  deserves  the  thanks  of  the  public  for 
being  the  first  to  open  his  journal  to  a  regular  department  for 
prayer-meeting  services.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  his  conspicuous 
example  will  be  followed  by  the  religious  press,  and  that  very 
generally  we  shall  have  attention  directed  to  the  importance  of 
this  service,  and  to  ways  and  means  for  sustaining  the  interest 
and  attendance. 

288 


FULTON   STREET   NOONDAY   PRAYER-MEETING,       289 

church  —  it  was  known  as  the  Old  Dutch  Church  — 
persuaded  me  that  it  was  my  duty  to  be  its  lay  mission- 
ary. 1  could  not  feel  that  I  had  qualifications  for 
this  work,  my  education  had  been  so  neglected ;  but 
he  would  not  let  me  go.  I  made  it  a  matter  of  prayer. 
Finally,  I  felt  myself  called  to  the  work,  and  gave 
up  my  business,  to  the  disgust  of  my  partner,  who 
pronounced  me  a  fool.  The  salary-  given  me  was  $800. 
I  visited  from  house  to  house,  engaged  in  prayer  if 
opportunity  offered,  talked  to  business  men,  and  in- 
vited children  to  the  Sabath-school.  Soon  the  work 
began  to  tell,  in  an  increased  attendance  at  our  regular 
Friday  evening  prayer-meeting,  and  Sabbath  services. 
"The  summer  of  '57,  as  you  know,  was  a  time  of 
great  business  depression.  1  met  Christian  business 
men  on  the  street.  We  talked  on  religion.  I  asked 
them  to  come  in  here  and  pray  with  me  a  few  moments. 
During  that  summer,  almost  any  hour,  you  could  have 
found  two  or  more  Christians  in  our  old  meeting-room 
in  prayer.  In  September  of  that  year,  I  felt  that  it 
would  be  well  to  have  a  prayer-meeting  for  business 
men,  at  the  hour  of  noon.  I  chose  that  hour,  I  sup- 
pose, because  it  was  so  precious  an  hour  to  me.  I 
consulted  with  no  one  but  God.  I  drew  up  the  plan. 
It  was  to  be  a  business  men's  meeting  for  prayer ;  to 
begin    at    the  hour  of    noon,   to  last  just    one  hour; 


290  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAVER-MEETINGS. 

people  to  be  permitted  to  come  in  and  to  go  out  at 
any   time.     There   was   to  be   no   constraint.     It  was 
to  be  understood  that  coming  in  and  going  out  would 
disturb  no  one,   so  that  business  men,  who   had   but 
ten    minutes   to   spare,    could   run    in,   in  their   shirt- 
sleeves for  that  matter,  join  in  a  single  pra3'^er  and  one 
hymn,  and  then  go   back   to   business.     It  was  to  be 
wholly  informal.     It  was  to  avoid   all  things  that  were 
controversial,  to  be  based  on  the  points   on  which  all 
Christians  were  agreed.     Episcopalian  and  Methodist, 
Presbyterian  and  Baptist,    Lutheran,    all   were   to  find 
this  a  prayer-meeting  home.       .       .       .       .       .       .      . 

"  Here  are  the  rules  which  we  hand  to  the  man  who 
is  to  lead  the  meeting,  for  any  day,  to  guide  him  : 


The  Usual  Daily  Order  of  Conducting  the   Meeting,  but  not 
Imperative. 

" '  Open  with  singing. 

" '  Read  the  Scripture. 

"'Read  half  of  the  requests  (at  12:30  the  remainder). 

" '  Prayer. 

"•Singing. 

"'Throw  the  meeting  open.  (You  have  fifteen  minutes  of 
time  for  the  above.  Say,  brethren,  be  prompt,  concise,  and  keep 
within  the  five  minutes,  in  order  that  many  may  take  part). 

" '  Sing  often,  read  one  verse  of  each  hymn  you  give  out.  If  any 
exceed  their  time,  manifest  it  by  rising.  Close  promptly  at  one 
o'clock. 

" '  Benediction.' 


FULTON   STREET   NOONDAY   PRAYER-MEETING.      29I 

"  If  a  lady  gets  up  any  time  during  the  service,  you 
get  up  and  ask  her  if  it  is  a  request  she  wishes  to 
make ;  and  you  stand  while  she  makes  it,  and  ask 
some  one  to  pray,  or  sing  a  verse  of  some  hymn,  as 
you  please." 

In  order  to  give  strangers  a  good  understanding 
of  the  character  of  these  meetings  the  following  faith- 
ful report  of  one,  as  a  specimen,  was  published  in 
1858,  by  Dr.  T.  W.  Chambers,  in  his  history  of 

The  Noon  Prayer-Meeting. 

"  We  take  our  seat  in  the  middle  of  the  room," 
wrote  he,  "  ten  minutes  before  twelve  o'clock,  M.  A  few 
ladies  are  seated  in  one  corner,  and  a  few  business  men 
are  scattered  here  and  there  through  the  room.  Five 
minutes  to  twelve,  the  room  begins  to  fill  up  rapidly. 
Two  minutes  to  twelve,  the  leader  passes  in,  and  takes 
his  seat  in  the  desk  or  pulpit.  At  twelve  M.  punctual 
to  the  moment,  at  the  first  stroke  of  the  clock,  the 
leader  rises  and  commences  the  meeting  by  reading 
two  or  three  verses  of  the  hymn, 

" '  Salvation,  oh  !  the  joyful  sound, 
*Tis  pleasure  to  our  ears  ; 
A  sovereign  balm  for  every  wound, 
A  cordial  for  our  fears.' 


292  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

"  Each  person  finds  a  hymn-book  in  his  seat ;  all 
sing  with  heart  and  voice.  The  leader  offers  a  prayer, 
short,  pointed,  to  the  purpose  ;  then  reads  a,  brief  por- 
tion of  Scripture.  Ten  minutes  are  now  gone.  Mean- 
time requests  in  sealed  envelopes  have  been  going  up 
to  the  desk  for  prayer.  Every  nook  and  corner  is 
filled  —  the  doorways  and  stairways  —  and  the  upper 
room  is  now  filled,  and  we  hear  the  voice  of  singing. 

"  A  deep,  solemn  silence  settles  down  upon  our 
meeting.  It  is  holy  ground.  The  leader  stands  with 
slips  of  paper  in  his  hand. 

"  He  says  '  This  meeting  is  now  open  for  prayer. 
Brethren  from  a  distance  are  specially  invited  to  take 
part,  all  will  observe  the  rules.' 

"  All  is  now  breathless  attention.  A  tender  solicitude 
spreads  over  all  those  upturned  faces. 

"  The  chairman  reads,  '  A  son  in  North  Carolina 
desires  the  fervent,  effectual  prayers  of  the  righteous 
of  this  congregation  for  the  immediate  conversion  of 
his  mother  in   Connecticut.' 

"  In  an  instant  a  father  rises,  '  I  wish  to  ask  the 
prayers  of  this  meeting  for  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 

"  And  he  sits  down  and  bursts  into  tears,  and  lays 
his  head  down  on  the  railing  of  the  seat  before  him, 
and  sobs  like  a  broken-hearted  child.     We  say  in  our 


FULTON   STREET  NOONDAY  PRAYER-MEETING.       293 

heart,  '  Oh  heart-stricken  parent !  do  you  not  know 
that  these  children  are  close  by  the  kingdom.' 

"  A  brother  rises  and  pours  out  all  his  heart  in  prayer 
for  that  '  mother,'  for  those  '  two  sons '  and  '  that 
daughter.' 

"A  few  remarks  follow — very  brief.  The  chairman 
rises  with  slips  of  paper  in  his  hand,  and  reads,  '  A 
praying  sister  requests  prayers  for  two  unconverted 
brothers  in  the  city  of  Detroit ;  that  they  be  converted 
and  become  true  followers  of  the  Lord   Jesus  Christ.' 

"Another,  'Prayers  are  requested  of  the  people  of 
God  for  a  young  man,  once  a  professor  of  religion, 
but  now  a  wanderer,  and  going  astray.  These  Chris- 
tian parents  invoke  a  continued  interest  in  your 
prayers.' 

"  And  another,  from  West  Cornwall,  Vt.  *  Believing 
in  the  power  and  efficacy  of  prayer,  an  aged  widowed 
mother  requests  the  prayers  of  those  Christians  who 
assemble  for  daily  prayer,  for  the  immediate  conversion 
of  two  sons,  that  they  may  become  the  meek  and 
humble  followers  of  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus.  A 
sick  daughter  sincerely  unites  with  her  in  this  earnest 
request.' 

"  Two  prayers  in  succession  followed  these  requests 
—  very  fervent,  very  earnest.  And  others  who  rose 
to  pray  at  the  same  time,  sat  down  again  when  they 


294  HOW  TO   CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

found  themselves  preceded  by  the  voices  already  en- 
gaged in  prayer.  Then  arose  from  all  hearts  that 
beautiful  hymn,  sung  with  touching  pathos,  so  appro- 
priate, too,  just  in  this  stage  of  this  meeting,  wfth  all 
these  cases  full  before  us  — 

" '  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins, 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains.' 

"  Then  followed  prayer  by  one  who  prays  earnestly 
for  all  who  have  been  prayed  for,  for  all  sinners  pres- 
ent, for  the  perishing  thousands  in  this  city,  for  the 
spread  of  revivals   all  over  the  land  and  world. 

"  It  is  now  a  quarter  to  one  o'clock.  Time  has 
fled  on  silver  wings.  The  chairman  rises  again  with 
still  more  slips  in  his  hands,  and  reads,  '  A  resident 
of  Georgia  requests  the  prayers  of  this  meeting  for 
two  dear  brothers,  that  they  may  be  brought  to  Christ 
in  this  day  of  salvation ;  one  residing  near  this  meeting, 
and  the  other  three  thousand  miles  away  from  the 
home  of  his  childhood.  Also  for  a  dear  and  only 
child.' 

"O!  that  mother,  that  mother  —  and  all  these 
mothers  —  shall  they  not  see  all  these  children  con- 
verted ? 

"  Again   he   reads,    and   this,  like   others,  was   very 


FULTON   STREET   NOONDAY   PRAYER-MEETING.        295 

affecting,  '  May  I,  without  presumption,  prefer  a  re- 
quest for  myself,  though  only  a  private  individual, 
and  for  a  feeble  church  among  whom  my  lot  is  cast, 
that  we  may  be  melted  and  humbled,  and  endued  with 
power  from  on  high,  and  made  instrumental  of  salva- 
tion—  establish  His  kingdom  with  power,  and  exalt 
His  throne  in  the  midst  bf  us  ?  Gird  thy  sword  upon 
thy  thigh,  Oh,  Thou  Most  Mighty  ! ' 

"  *  I  would  beg  leave  to  prefer  the  same  request  for 
all  the  churches,  some  thirty  in  number,  connected  with 
this  presbytery,  being  among  the  few  reported  at  the 
late  General  Assembly  wholly  unvisited  with  the  show- 
ers of  grace.  The  request  will  not  be  considered  out 
of  season.  My  soul  breaketh  for  the  longing  that 
it  hath,  so  says  one  of  our  oldest  ministers.' 

"  This  was  understood  to  be  a  presbytery  in  Virginia. 
Many  eyes  filled  with  tears  when  this^  request  was  read. 
And  who  will  soon  forget  the  prayer  that  followed  for 
those  unvisited  churches  and  that  humble  petitioner. 

"Then  there  arose  a  sailor,  now  one  no  more,  by 
reason  of  ill-health,  but  daily  laboring  for  sailors. 
He  was  converted  on  board  a  man-of-war,  and  he 
knew  how  hard  it  was  for  the  converted  sailor  to  stand 
up  firm  against  the  storm  of  jeers  and  reproaches,  and 
taunts  of  a  ship's  crew.  '  Now  I  am  here,'  he  said, 
*  to   represent  one  who  has  requested  me  to   ask  your 


296  HOW  TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

prayers  for  a  converted  sailor,  this  day  gone  to  sea. 
I  parted  from  him  a  Httle  time  ago,  and  his  fear  is 
that  he  may  dishonor  the  cause  of  the  blessed  Re- 
deemer.    Will  you  pray  for  this  sailor  ? ' 

"  Prayer  was  offered  for  his  keeping  and  guidance. 

"  Then  came  the  closing  hymn,  the  benediction, 
and  the  parting  for  twenty-four  hours." 


CHAPTER  XXXIIT. 

The  Chicago  Noonday  Prayer-Meeting.* 

THE  year  1857  was  as  conspicuous  throughout  the 
country  for  its  religious  revival  as  for  its  com- 
mercial disasters.  The  revival  swept  over  the  country 
vitalizing  dead  churches,  resulting  in  the  conversion 
of  thousands  of  people,  and  the  organization  of  new 
churches  and  new  religious  associations  in  every  quar- 
ter. The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  New 
York  was  instituted  Sept.  23,  1857.  Elsewhere  such 
associations  were  springing  up  and  prospering,  and 
these  facts  were  not  lost  on  the  Christian  men  of  this 
city.  There  already  existed  a  Young  Men's  Society 
for  Religious  Improvement,  and  this  society  issued  a 
call  fcr  a  meeting  of  Christian  men  to  be  held  in  Me- 

*  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  W.  W.  Vamarsdale,  editor  of  The  Watch- 
mail,  for  the  following  interesting  sketch.  The  Watchman  is  "  the 
only  international  medium  of  communication  "  between  the  vari- 
ous "  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of  the  United  States 
and  British  Provinces,"  and  is  published  by  Mr.  F.  H.  Revell, 
Chicago.  This  noonday  meeting  has  a  great  interest  because  it 
was  the  school  in  which  Mr.  Moody  labored  for  so  many  years, 
and  in  which  he  himself  was  so  efficiently  trained. 
297 


298  HOW  TO    CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

tropolitan  Block  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  noon 
prayer-meeting.  This  meeting  was  held  in  the  latter 
part  of  November,  and  was  largely  attended.  The 
noon  meeting  was  at  once  established  and  drew  large 
audiences  for  some  time. 

Among  those  persons  who  most  actively  participated 
in  this  initial  movement  were  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Patterson, 
Rev.  E.  F.  Dickinson,  D.D.,  then  and  now  city  mis- 
sionary; Rev.  W.  G.  Howard,  D.D.,  of  the  Baptist 
Church ;  Rev.  Mr.  Curtis,  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church;  Rev.  Noah  Hunt  Schenck,  D.D.,  then  of 
the  Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  now  of  Brooklyn ;  Rev. 
James  Baum,  Methodist  Church,  afterward  sent  to 
India;  Rev.  N.  L.  Rice,  D.D.,  North  Presbyterian; 
Messrs.  J.  V.  Farwell,  E.  S.  Wells,  Tuthill  King,  T.  B. 
Carter,  H.  G.  Penfield,  L.  D.  Boone,  Samuel  Hood, 
Cyrus  Bentley,  B.  W.  Rayman,  W.  H.  Brown,  C.  N. 
Holden,  W.  C.  Grant,  B.  F.  Jacobs,  P.  L.  Underwood. 
Sylvester  Lind,  and  Alex.  Fyfe. 

The  meetings  were  held  in  Metropolitan  Hall,  and 
were  for  weeks  so  thronged  that  hundreds  of  people 
were  unable  to  gain  admittance.  In  connection  with 
these  meetings  a  series  of  sermons  were  preached  by 
the  Rev.  R.  W.  Patterson,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  James  E. 
Foy,  the  Rev.  Noah  Hunt  Schenck,  D.D.,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Rice,  and  others. 


THE  CHICAGO    NOONDAY   PRAYER-MEETING.        299 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  winter  the  attendance 
fell  off  greatly,  in  great  part  because  other  prayer-meet- 
ings were  being  held  all  over  the  city.  In  the  spring 
the  attendance  often  fell  to  a  dozen  or  two,  and  some 
times  to  two  or  three,  but  Alexander  Fyfe  was  always 
on  hand,  and  the  meetings  were  not  suspended,  but 
as  they  no  longer  required  a  large  hall  they  were 
moved  to  the  basement  of  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
which  stood  where  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  now  is. 

The  B.  Y,  M.  C.  A.  was  organized  May  17,  1858, 
with  Cyrus  Bentley  as  President.  Then,  the  noon 
prayer-meeting  being  in  a  very  low  state,  and  its 
dissolution  being  in  prospect,  unless  some  change  was 
made,  it  was  adopted  by  the  association  late  in  the 
spring  of  1858,  and  moved  from  the  First  Baptist 
Church  to  Lind's  Block  on  Randolph  street,  where  the 
association  had  its  rooms. 

During  the  war  the  prayer-meeting  was  again  largely 
attended,  and  wielded  a  powerful  influence.  It  was 
the  centre  from  which  emanated  wide-spread  efforts 
not  only  to  supply  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  soldiers, 
but  also  to  alleviate  their  physical  sufferings. 

It  was  in  the  noon  prayer-meeting  that  Messrs.  D.  L. 
Moody  and  B.  F.  Jacobs  broached  the  subject  of  a 
building  for  the  Christian  Association.     The  effort  to 


300  HOW  TO  CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

obtain  a  second  building  was  originated  in  the  same 
place,  A  couple  of  years  after  the  fire  a  statement 
in  a  city  paper  that  the  association  gave  no  signs  of 
life  and  appeared  to  have  outlived  its  usefulness,  read 
in  the  noon  prayer-meeting  by  Mr  Jacobs,  aroused  the 
friends  of  the  association  to  the  necessities  of  the  hour, 
and  the  meeting  decided  to  raise  $5,000  and  put  up  a 
temporary  building  on  the  old  lot.  The  $5,000  came 
so  easily  that  the  efforts  to  raise  the  money  were  con- 
tinued, and  the  present  building  is  the  result. 

In  1868  Mr.  Jacobs  was  working  for  the  adoption 
of  uniform  Sunday-school  lessons,  an  idea  then  very 
generally  opposed.  As  a  move  in  this  direction,  the 
Saturday  noon  meeting  was  made  a  teachers'  meeting, 
for  the  study  of  the  next  day's  lesson.  This  was  the 
first  meeting  of^the  kind  in  the  country.  There  are 
now  twenty-six  of  them. 

•  Mr.  Moody  began  to  take  an  active  interest  in  the 
noon  meeting  and  the  association  in  1859.  For  some 
time  a  good  part  of  the  attendance  at  the  noon  meet- 
ing was  due  to  his  personal  effort. 

The  writer  of  this  article  first  attended  the  meetings 
in  1868,  and  well  remembers  Mr.  Moody's  personal 
appeal  to  attend  regularly,  and  confess  Christ  before 
men.     Although  an  entire  stranger  to  him,  the  words 


THE  CHICAGO     NOONDAY   PRAYER-MEETING.        3OI 

were  heeded  and  resulted  in  a  greater  blessing  to 
the  writer  than  any  other  meetings  he  has  ever  at- 
tended. During  the  last  twenty-one  years  of  this 
meeting,  not  a  day  has  been  missed,  even  after  the 
great  fire  of  187 1.  Mr.  Moody  held  the  meeting  on 
the  West  Side,  in  the  American  Reformed  Church, 
while  the  fire  was  still  raging. 

In  1873-4  Maj.  J.  N.  Cole  labored  very  earnestly 
in  behalf  of  the  meeting  in  advertising  it  in  the  hotels, 
cars  and  on  the  streets,  which  resulted  in  a  largely 
increased  attendance  and  excellent  meetings.  During 
1876-7,  the  attendance  averaged  over  two  hundred, 
daily,  making  it  the  best  attended  meeting  in  this 
country.  The  attendance  at  present  is  a  little  over 
one  hundred,  daily. 

In  these  meetings  on  Fridays,  the  subject  is  temper- 
ance, and  on  Saturdays,  the  Sunday-school  lesson  for 
the  following  day. 

As  it  is  a  matter  of  general  profit  to  know  how  a 
large  and  successful  prayer-meeting  is  conducted,  the 
invitation  sent  to  the  leader,  and  the  directions  to  guide 
him,  are  herewith  annexed,  and  need  no  other  words 
of  comment  or  explanation  : 


302  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Chicago,  150  Madison  St., 187  . 

Dear  Brother  — 

Will  you  lead  the  Noonday  Prayer- Meeting, 

on the 

from  12  to  12:45  o'clock  p.  M. 

Please  reply  by  return  of  mail,  noting  your  topic  or  subject 
for  the  meeting,  and  oblige. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Secretary. 

To  

N.  B.  —  Topic  suggested  for  this  day  by  the  International 
Committee  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is 

If  another  subject  should  seem  more  appropriate  you  are 
at  liberty  to  use  it. 

It  is  desirable  that  the  leader   should  be    at  the    rooms  a 
few  minutes  before  the  time  for  commencing  the  meeting. 

ORDER   OF  EXERCISES. 

Be  prompt. 

The  opening  exercises  of  the  meeting  must  not  exceed  twenty 
minutes,  including  Singing,  Prayer,  Reading  Scriptures  and  Re- 
marks of  Leader. 

1.  Open  the  meeting  by  giving  out  a  hymn,  or  part  of  one. 

2.  Prayer  by  the  leader,  or  some  one  in  the  audience,  on 
whom  he  may  call  for  that  purpose. 

3.  Reading  of  Scripture  and   remarks  of  leader. 

4.  Announce :  The  meeting  is  now    open    for    prayers  and  ex- 


THE  CHICAGO    NOONDAY   PRAYER-MEETING.        303 

hortations  —  observing  particularly  the  three  minute  rule.     Invite 
the  strangers  present  to  take  part  in  the  services. 

5.  Request  the  brethren  leading  in  prayer  to  remember  espec- 
ially all  the  careless  and  impenitent,  also  the  anxious  and  inquir- 
ing, who  may  be  present  at  this  meeting. 

6.  Call  for  all  the  requests  at  the  opening  of  the  meeting  — 
requiring  a  prayer  to  follow  next  after  reading  the  same,  having 
special  reference  to  such  requests. 

7  All  written  requests  left  on  the  desks  or  otherwise,  should 
be  handed  to  a  member  of  the  devotional  committee,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  meeting  by  him. 

8.  At  intervals  when  there  is  a  hesitancy  in  the  meeting,  give 
out  one  verse  of  a  hymn. 

9.  In  case  of  any  debatable  suggestion  or  proposition  by  any 
person,  say :  This  is  simply  a  prayer-meeting,  and  that  would 
be  out  of  order.     Call  on  some  brother  to  pray. 

10.  Give  out  the  closing  hymn  in  time  to  let  the  people  depart 
by  12:45  o'clock,   sharp. 


Prayers  or  remarks  should  not  exceed  three  minutes. 

Not  more  than  two  prayers  or  two  addresses  should  follow 
each  other. 

Request  all  who  take  part  in  the  meeting  to  face  the  audience 
and  speak  in  a  clear  distinct  tone. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Prayer  -  Meeting    Conventions. 

PRESIDENT  Edwards  has  devoted  a  treatise,  (Vol. 
3.  429)  to  "  A  humble  attempt  to  promote  explicit 
agreement  and  visible  union  of  God's  people  in  ex- 
traordinary prayer,  for  the  revival  of  religion  and  the 
advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth,  pursuant 
to  Scripture  promises  and  prophesies  concerning  the 
last  time.^'  In  part  first  he  opens  tlft  text,  "Thus  saith 
the  Lord  of  Hosts.  It  shall  come  to  pass,  that  there 
shall  come  people,  and  the  inhabitants  of  many  cities, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  one  city  shall  go  to  another, 
saying,  Let  us  go  speedily  to  pray  before  the  Lord,  and 
to  seek  the  Lord  of  Hosts :  I  will  go  also.  Yea, 
many  people  and  strong  nations  shall  come  to  seek 
the  Lord  of  Hosts  in  Jerusalem,  and  to  pray  before 
the  Lord."  —  Zech.  8:  20-22.  To  this  is  subjoined  a 
memorial  on  "Union  in  Prayer,"  issued  Aug.  26,  1746, 
by  several  ministers  in  Scotland,  to  their  brethren  in 
different  places,  for  continuing  a  concert  for  prayer, 
first  entered  into  in  1744.  In  part  second,  motives  to 
a  compliance  with  what  is  proposed  in  the  memorial 
304 


PRAYER-MEETING  CONVENTIONS.  305 

are  presented.  In  part  third,  some  objections  are  an- 
swered. The  whole  piece  concludes  with  a  pointed 
summary,  in  way  of  application,  to  the  principles  that 
have  been  discussed. 

We  may  suppose  there  are  suggestions  here  which 
point  toward  the  holding  of  prayer-meeting  conven- 
tions. At  any  rate  we  find  that  attempts  have  been 
made  to  carry  out  the  spirit  of  the  text  which  is  made 
the  key-note  to  this  treatise  by  President  Edwards. 
It  is  stated  by  Rev.  J.  B.  Johnston  that  the  Reformed 
churches  (United  Presbyterian,  etc.,)  during  the  period 
of  Union,  held  eight  conventions  of  this  nature  between 
1838  and  1846,  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  in  prayer, 
and  others  religious  exercises.  His  account  of  the 
prayer-meeting  convention  that,  met  in  Xenia,  Ohio, 
1858,  is  particularly  full  and  instructive.  In  the  cir- 
cular, issued  as  a  call  for  that  convention,  among  other 
things  a  few  topics  were  suggested  as  appropriate  sub- 
jects of  consideration  on  an  occasion   of  this  kind  : 

1.  The  true  nature  of  a  revival. 

2.  Indications  of  the  need  of  a  revival. 

3.  Encouragements  to  hope  for  a  revival. 

4.  Causes  of  the  present  deadness  of  the  church. 

5.  Sins  of  the  day  as  impeding  the  progress  of  religioiu 

6.  Means  of  promoting  revival. 

7.  Necessity  for  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


3o6  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

8.  Evidences  of  a  true  revival. 

9.  Revival  of  religion  essential  to  the  success  of  missions. 

10.  Aspects  of  Divine  Providence  toward  the  Church  and  the 
world. 

This  convention  met  as  it  had  been  invited  to  do, 

and    spent  a  few  days  in    most    Christian    fellowship 

and   profitable   discussion.     The  results  were  summed 

up   as  follows  by  a  special  committee,   to  be : 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  convention  to  give  an  ex. 
pression  to  our  churches  in  regard  to  the  specific  measures  which 
should  be  adopted  by  our  sessions  and  members,  so  that  a  proper 
direction  may  be  given  to  the  present  awakening  on  the  subject  of 
religion.  While  we  have  no  new  measures  to  recommend,  it  may 
be  proper  for  us  to  set  about  the  use  of  God's  measures  and  means 
with  new  life  and  vigor ;  these  are  the  faithful,  direct  preaching 
of  the  Word,  earnest  prayer  to  God  in  the  closet,  in  the  family 
and  in  the  social  meeting  —  opening  our  churches  for  prayer 
through  the  week,  where  the  circumstances  of  our  people,  and  the 
need  of  the  community,  render  such  a  measure  expedient.  Estab- 
lishing meetings  for  prayer  and  conference  in  as  many  localities 
as  possible  —  urging  on  our  members  and  elders  the  duty  of  taking 
an  active  part  in  these  meetings." 

A  convention  was  also  held,  after  this,  in  the  city  of 
Allegheny,  but  the  expectations  of  most  who  met  were 
disappointed.  Said  one  of  the  speakers,  "I  confess 
that  the  conference  has  not  come  up  to  my  own  feelings 
as  to  what  it  should  be.  What  is  the  reason  ?  What  is 
it  that  arrests,  so  often,  the  growing  interest?  What 
is  it  that  dampens  so  often  the   rising  fervor  of  devo- 


PRAYER-MEETING  CONVENTIONS.  307 

tion  ?  It  is  the  inordinate  concern  about  an  event 
anticipated  in  the  future." 

Now,  may  I  not  give  a  practical  conclusion  to  this 
chapter  ?  What  shall  prevent  God'^  people,  those  who 
love  to  pray,  and  who  relish  the  blessings  of  spiritual 
communion,  from  assembling  in  a  prayer-meeting  confer- 
ence, just  as  those  deeply  interested  in  Sabbath-schools 
meet  from  time  to  time  in  institutes  and  county  or 
State  conventions  ?  Would  it  not  be  highly  edifying 
and  stimulating,  whilst  avoiding  all  appearance  of 
fanaticism,  to  meet  for  the  study  of  the  Bible  on,  say 
particularly,  such  subjects  as  are  outlined  in  the  above 
circular  ?  "  Let  us  go  speedily  to  pray  before  the  Lord 
and  to  seek  the   Lord  of  Hosts:   I  will  go  also." 

Or,  failing  to  find  continued  necessity  for  such 
conferences,  on  the  part  of  all  the  people,  Methodists 
have  their  district  conferences,  Baptists  their  associa- 
tions, Congregationalists  their  conventions,  Lutherans 
their  synods,  Presbyterians  their  presbyteries,  and  so 
on ;  why  may  not  a  part  of  their  various  exercises  be 
to  consider  these  very  things?  What  things .-'  Why 
such  subjects  as  these,  "  The  Bible  History  of  Prayer," 
"  The  Prayers  of  the  Bible,"  "Bible  Answers  to 
Prayer,"  "  Prayer  and  its  Remarkable  Answers  in  Our 
Day,"  "The  Power  of  Prayer,"  "The  Philosophy  of 
Prayer,"    "The  True  Prayer-Gauge,"  "  Gospel    Means 


308  HOW  TO   CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

and  Methods  for  Revivals,"  "Narratives  of  Remarka- 
ble Conversions  and  Revival  Incidents,  "  "  Five  Years 
of  Prayer,"  "  Fifteen  Years  of  Prayer,"  "  The  Church 
Prayer- Meeting  And  Its  Improvement,"  and  "  How  To 
Conduct  Prayer-Meetings." 

Do  you  not  think  that  the  direct  and  associated 
study  of  such  subjects,  year  by  year,  the  appearing 
before  the  Lord  in  concerted  prayer,  and  the  seeking 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  growth  in  grace  and  reviving, 
would  be  eminently  feasible,  practical  and  full  of  spirit- 
ual blessings  to  the  church  collectively,^and  to  her  mem- 
bership individually  ? 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

"Directory  for  Worship  of   the  United  Presby- 
terian Church. 

"  T)RAYER-Meetings  :  i.  Meetings  for  prayer  should 

X.  be  held  in  every  congregation.  Matt.  3:  i6,  etc. 
—  Acts  2:4  etc.  When  a  minister  is  present,  he  should 
preside,  and  give  direction  to  the  exercises.  In  his 
absence,  an  elder,  or  member  of  approved  piety,  should 
conduct  the  meeting. 

"  2.  The  exercises  should  consist  of  reading  the 
Scriptures,  the  singing  of  Psalms,  the  offering  of  suita- 
ble prayers,  and  remarks  founded  on  some  passage 
of  Scripture,  or  interesting  event  of  Providence.  The 
whole  should  conduct  to  brotherly  love,  personal  piety, 
and  the  general  interests  of  religon. 

"3.  Meetings  for  prayer  may  be  held  at  one  or 
more  times,  and  in  one  or  more  places,  in  the  congre- 
gation during  the  week.  But  they  should  never  be 
allowed  to  interfere  with,  or  to  take  the  place  of,  im- 
portant religious  duties  in  the  family. 

"  4.  Church  sessons  should  hold  a  sessional  prayer- 
meeting  at  least  once  a  month,  at  which  they  may 
309 


3IO  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

consult  about  the  condition  au^  interests  of  the  flock, 
and  implore  divine  guidance  in  all  that  to  which  they 
are  called. 

"5.  When  a  congregation  has  no  pastor,  or  when  he 
is  absent,  it  may  be  profitable  to  spend  a  part  of  the 
Sabbath  in  social  prayer ;  and  if  none  are  present 
capable  of  making  appropriate  remarks,  let  some  one 
read  an  evangelical   and  instructive  sermon. 

"  Church  officers  should  exhort  the  people  to  a  faith- 
ful attendance  on  prayer-meetings,  and  none  should  ex- 
cuse themselves  from  attending,  without  good  reason." 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Moody's  Seventeen  Rules  for  Keeping  up  the 
Interest^ 

THERE  are  some  in  every  church,  most  likely, 
who  will  come  to  the  prayer-meeting,  if  there 
is  an  unusual  interest  in  its  exercises.  If  they  hear 
that  something  new  is  characterizing  the  meetings,  they 
have  a  curiosity  to  go  and  see  for  themselves.  As 
soon  as  the  interest  abates,  they  again  drop  out.  It 
is  my  experience,  as  that  of  others,  that  the  prayer- 
meeting  requires  constant  labor  for  its  improvement. 
It  may  be  brought  to  a  high  state  of  excellence, 
and  a  few  weeks  of  letting  things  run  themselves  will 
destroy  it  all,  and  leave  matters  just  where  they  were 
before, 

"  Since  beginning  my  work  here,"  writes  the  Rev. 
Herbert  W.  Lathe,  pastor  Plymouth  Church,  Portland, 
Me.,  "my  prayer-meetings  have  been  my  greatest  anx- 
iety, and  I  have  gone  to  work  hard  to  improve  them. 
I  find  that  they  will  not  '  go  '  of  themselves.  They  need 
a  great  deal  of  careful  thought  and  preparation.  And 
the  preparation  which  really  prepares,  in  my  experience, 
is,  not  merely  the  collection  and  arrangement  of  '  some- 
3" 


312  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

thing  to  say,'  but  constant  attention  to  all  the  details 
of  the  meeting,  such  as  singing,  variety  of  topic  and 
method,  etc.  I  sometimes  speak  to  individuals,  pre- 
vious to  the  meetings,  as  to  taking  a  part.  I  have 
found  it  helpful,  occasionally,  to  distribute  passages  of 
Scripture,  to  individuals  previously,  and  request  them 
to  repeat  them  at  the  meeting.  At  times  I  have  re- 
quested all  to  bring  their  testaments,  and  have  then 
given  out  passages  to  various  persons  (if  possible  such 
as  do  not  usually  take  part),  asking  them  to  read. 
Once  or  twice  I  have  presented  the  topic  in  the  form 
of  a  question,  or  problem,  and  requested  the  brethren 
to  give  their  views  first.  This  I  do  when  the  subject 
is  very  simple  and  I  fear  that  they  would  have  nothing 
to  say  after  me.  For  example,  I  presented  Paul  and 
James  on  '  Faith  and  Works,'  and  asked  the  brethren 
to  reconcile  them.  Indeed,  I  am  constantly  devising 
expedients,  careful  not  to  forget  that  it  is  'not  by 
might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my 'Spirit."  I  am  delighted 
that  so  much  thought  is  being  given  to  the  prayer- 
meeting.     It  is  the  thermometer  of  the  church." 

Mr.  Moody's  directions  for  sustaining  a  continued 
interest  in  the  social  meetings  for  prayer,  are  in  the  line 
of  these  suggestions,  and  come  from  one  who  by  a 
long  experience  has  learned  both  how  to  do  it,  and 
how  not  to  do  it : 


MOODY'S  SEVENTEEN  RULES.  3I3 

"  I.  Get  the  people  near  together. 

"  2.  Let  the  meeting  places  be  well  ventilated. 

**  3.  Have  some  good  singing. 

"4.  When  we  have  special  meetings  let  us  have 
special  prayer. 

*'  5.  Let  requests  be  received  for  special  cases. 

"6.  Let  the  minister  or  leader  presiding  do  little 
more  than  give  the  key-note  to  the  service, 

"  7.  It  is  well  to  give  out  the  next  subject  at  the  pre- 
vious meeting. 

"8.  Do  not  scold  the  people  who  have  come  because 
the  rest  have  not  come. 

"  g.  If  we  are  disb^graged,  do  not  let  any  one  see  it. 

"  ID.  Do  not  have  more  than  two  prayers  consecu- 
tively. 

"11.  Do  not  have  a  formal  address. 

"12.  Have  the  meeting  short. 

"  13.  Avoid  discussion. 

"  14.  If  you  can  not  get  members  to  take  part,  go 
and  speak  to  them  about  it  alone. 

"15.  Be  sure  and  throw  the  meeting  open  half  the 
time. 

"  16.  Be  punctual. 

"  17.  Lastly,  seek  to  make  sure  that  in  going  to  the 
meeting  you  are  going  to  it  in  the  Spirit. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Different  Forms  of  Printed  Lists. 

IT  has  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  prove  quite  a 
serviceable  hint  if  I  were  to  close  this  book  with 
two  or  three  specimen  cards  to  show  how  the  topics  are 
most  conveniently  printed  and  prepared  for  circulation, 
among  all  the  members  of  the  congregation.  It  has 
been  my  custom  to  print  the  cards  differently  each 
year,  so  that  the  lists  for  the  successive  years  might  be 
easily  distinguished  from  each,  jother,  and  have  the 
charm  of  novelty. 

For  example,  for  one  year  I  printed  on  the  first 
page  the  name  of  the  church  and  its  officers  with  a 
few  words  of  explanation  and  of  invitation ;  and  on 
the  fourth  page  some  "  Hints  for  the  Improvement  of 
our  Prayer-Meeting."  For  another  year  a  change  was 
made  in  the  size  of  the  cards,  in  the  kind  of  types 
used,  and  in  the  explanations  on  the  first  and  fourth 
pages.  A  change  of  this  kind  does  not  add  to  the 
expense  of  printing,  and  makes  the  cards  fresh  and 
attractive  for  each  year.  It  is  well  to  print  the  sub- 
jects rather  than  merely  announce  them  from  the  pulpit, 
314 


DIFFERENT  FORMS  OF  PRINTED   LISTS.  315 

SO  that  in  addition  to  other  advantages,  all  who  are 
unable  to  attend  the  meeting,  whether  from  infirmity 
of  age,  or  sickness,  or  for  other  reason,  may  know  what 
themes  are  presented  from  week  to  week,  and  on 
the  evening  for  prayer,  though  absent  in  body,  they 
may  truly  be  present  in  spirit.  These  lists,  likewise,  if 
preserved,  will  contain  a  history  of  the  prayer-meeting 
in  the  church  from  year  to  year,  in  connection  with 
which,  those  who  have  attended,  will  be  enabled  to 
recall  in  outline  the  remarks  offered  at  those  several 
meetings. 

The  following  schedules,  printed  as  nearly  like  the 
original,  as  the  types  will  permit,  present  in  a  forcible 
manner  these  differences  in  type,  size  and  looks. 
As  they  fully  explain  themselves,  no  comments  are 
necessary. 


3l6  HOW  TO  CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 


Prayer-Meeting. 

Thursday  Evening  7 :  30  o'clock. 


Themes  for   1879. 

SECOND 

p 

resbyterian 

CHURCH. 

Wtn.  Alvin  Bartlett. 

PASTOR. 

DIFFERENT   FORMS   OF  PRINTED   LISTS.  317 


Jan.      2.  The  Talents,  Matt.  25:  14-30. 

9.  Prayer  for  Nations  Rulers  and  People, 
I  Tim.  2 :  1-4. 

16.  Backsliding  Children,  Jer.  3  :  14-15. 

23.  A  Clean  Heart,  Ps.  15:  lo-it. 
30.  Prayer  for  the  Young,  i  Chron. 

29.  18-28. 
Feb.      6    God  is  Love,  i  John  4: 8. 

13.  The  World  for  Christ,  Acts  i  :i-8. 

20.  The  Ministry  of  Reconciliation,    2  Cor. 

5;  18. 
27.  Remembrance  of  Mercies,   Ps.  71 :  14-24. 
Mar.     6.  A  Man  Sought,  Jer.  5  :  i. 

13.  "Are  there  few  that  be  saved?"        Luke 

13 :  23-28. 
20.  Blessed  are  the  Pure  in  Heart,"       Matt. 

5:8. 
27.  Beautiful  Zion,  Ps.  50 :  2. 

April     3.  Woman's  Work,  Rom.  16:1-13. 

10.  Prayer  for  the  Gospel,  2  Thes.  3  :i. 

17.  Godly  Sorrow,  2  Cor.  7:10. 

24.  Broken  Cisterns,  Jer.  2  :  13. 
May      I.  Highways  and  Hedges,      Matt.  »2 :  i-io. 

8.  The  Widow  of  Nain,  Luke  7:  11-16. 

15.  The  Cleansing  Blood,  i  John  i  -.j. 

22.  Livmg  Honestly,  Rom.  3 :  7-14. 

29.  Search  the  Scriptures,  John  5 :  39. 

June     5.  Certainty  of  Salvation,        i  Peter  i :  1-9. 
12.  Rest,  Heb.  4:1-9- 

19.  The  Transfiguration,  Matt.  17:  1-8. 

a6.  The  Greatest,  Luke  22 :  24-27. 


3l8  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 


July      3.  Does  Sin  Pay?  Rom.  6:31. 

10.  Family  Prayer,  1  Cor.  16:19. 

17.  "Am  I  my  Brother's  keeper?"         Gen. 

4:9. 

24.  The  Sons  of  God  in  the  World,         Phil. 

2:  15. 

31.  The  Prodigal,  Luke  15:  11-32. 

Aug.     7.  Ruth,  Book  of  Ruth. 

14.  Old  Paths  Rejected,  Jer.  6:16. 

21.  Jesus  and  the  Resiurection,    Acts  17:  18. 

28.  The  Barren  Fig  Tree,  Luke  13  :  6-9. 

Sept.     4.  Will  a  Man  Rob  God,  Matt.  3  :  7-10. 

1 1.  1  he  Lamb  of  God,  John  1  :  29. 

18.  Christian  Courtesy,  Ruth  2  :  4,  Gal.  6 :  1-2. 

25.  At  Jesus' Feet,  Luke  10:39. 
Oct.       2.   "  Come  ye  Blessed,"        Matt.  25  :  34-46. 

9.  Promises,  2  Peter  i :  4. 

16.  "Satan  Came  also,"  Job  i :  6. 

23.  The  Comforter,  John  14  :  16-26. 

30.  The  Lord  can   save  by  many  or  by  few, 
I  Sam.  14  :  6. 
Nov.     6.   The  Minimum  of  faith,        Num.  21:5-9. 

13.  Jesus  before  Pilate,  Matt.  27. 

20.  Give! hanks,  Ps.  147:1-20. 

27.  Faiih,  Heb.  11. 

Dec.     4.  Naaman,  2  Kings  5. 

II.  1  he  poor,  John  12 : 5. 

18.  Death  and  Victory,  i  Cor.  15  :  55-56. 

3$.  Bethlehem,  Luke  2. 


DIFFERENT   FORMS  OF   PRINTED   LISTS.  319 


Services. 

Sabbath  Morning  and  Evening. 

Sacrament  Sabbaths  ( Last   Sun.  in  Jan. 

1      "        "        Mar. 

Baptism  &  Lord's  Supper  )      "        "        June. 

(     "        "  Oct. 

Preparatory  Service    the   Preceding   Friday. 

Sabbath  School. 

At  2  :  15  P.  M.    Teachers'    Meeting   Thursday 
Evening  7 :  00,  before  Prayer-Meeting. 

Prayer-Meeting, 

Sabbath  Morning,  9 :  30. 

Thursday  Evening,  7  :  30. 

Young  Peoples'  Monday  Evening,  7 :  30. 

Session  Meeting. 

First  Tuesday  Evening  of  each  month,  and  after 
each  Tuesday   Evening   Prayer-Meeting. 

De\con's  Meeting. 

Ahernate  Monday  Evenings. 

Collections. 

Third    Sabbath   Morning  of  each   month. 
For  the  Poor  on  Sacrament  Sabbaths. 

Annual  Meeting  of  Church  &  Congregation. 

First   Thursday  Evenhig  in  January  after    Prayer- 
Meeting. 


320  HOW   TO   CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 


BRICK  CHURCH, 


ROCHESTER,  N.  Y. 


Rev.  JAMES  B.  SHAW,  D.D.,  Pastor. 


Elder  David  Dickey, 

"  Louis  Chapin, 

"  Harvey  C.  Fenn, 

"  Edwin  Scrantom, 

"  Charles  F.  Weaver, 

"  Lansing  G.  Wetmore, 

••  Jesse  W.  Hatch, 

"  George  N.  Storms, 

"  Joel  G.  Davis, 

"  Edward  Webster. 


THE  design  of  this  Schedule,  in  which  this  Church 
unites  with  many  others,  is  to  make  .more  of  our  Church 
Prayer-Meeting  ;  to  secure  a  larger  attendance,  and  a 
more  general  participation  in  the  exercises,  and  thus  to 
add  to  its  interest  and  spiritual  power.  Should  a  particu- 
lar Providence  at  any  time  call  our  thoughts  to  other  sub- 
jects, this  order  will  be  suspended. 

It  has  been  adopted  as  an  aid  to  united,  intelligent  Con- 
ference and  Prayer ;  not  to  prevent  a  devout  consideration 
of  any  subject  that  is  just  then  of  special  interest,  or  to 
compel  any  one  to  speak  upon  the  topic  or  be  silent.  It 
is  intended  not  to  bring  into  bondage,  but  to  give  liberty, 
by  leading  to  a  study  of  the  Word,  and  a  preparation  for 
the  Meeting. 

JiE^^Keep  this  Schedule  in  the  Bible  you  daily  use. 


DIFFERENT  FORMS  OF  PRINTED   LISTS.  321 


TOPICS  FOR  1879. 

Jan.      I.     A  Seasonable  Exhortation.     Isa.  62  :  6,  7. 

"       5-12.  Week  ok  Prayer.  Baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
"     15.     All  Things  Ready.     Matt.  22  :  1-4. 
"     22.      rhe  Servant's  Commission.     Matt.  22 :  9. 
"     29.     Prayer   for    Schools.     Isa.    54.  13;  Prov.  22:  6; 
Hosea  4 :  6. 
Feb.     5.     Monthly   Concert.     China   and  the    Chinese    in 
America. 
♦'     12.     Christ's   Laborers.     Matt.  20  :  i-i6  ;   Acts  9  :   6; 

I.  Cor.  3  :  9. 

"     19.     Without  God  no  Success.     Ps.  127:1;  John  15  : 

5  ;  6 :  63. 
"     26.     With  Him  no  Failure.     Phil.  4  ;  13 ;  H.  Cor.  3 :  5. 
Mar.    5.     Monthly  Concert.     Mexico  and  New  Mexico. 
"     12.     Christ   our   Passover.     Exodus  12;  I.  Cor.  5 :  7  ; 

J  ohn  1 :  29. 
"     19.     Public  Confession  Required.      Romans.    10:  10 ; 

Matt.  10:  32,  33  ;  Acts  16:  33. 
"     26.     Profession  without  Hypocrisy.     Acts  19:  18,  19; 

II.  Cor.  5:  14,  15- 
Apr.     2.     Monthly   Concert.     India. 

"      9.     Rising  with   Christ.     Luke    24:   34;    Col.   3:    i; 

I.  Cor.  15  :  14. 
"     16.     Seed  Sowing.     Gal.  6  :  7,  8  ;  Eccl.  11:6;     Psalm 

126 :  6. 
"     23.     Answered   while    Praying.     Dan.   9;    21-3;    Acts 

12:  5-10;  Luke  23:42,43. 
"    30.     Temperance.     Eph.  5:18:   Rom.  14:   21;  Psalm 
94 :  20. 
May    7.     Monthly  Concert.     Siam  and  Laos. 
"     14.     God  our  Refuge.     Ps.  46. 

"     21.     The  House  Swept  and  Garnished.     Luke  11  :  25. 
"     28.     Witness  of  the  Spirit.     Rom.  8  :  16. 
Jun      4.     Monthly  Concert.     Africa. 

"     II.     Children's  Claim  on  the  Church.     Ps.  78  :   5. 
"     18.     Our  Enjoyment  Pleasing  to  God.     I.  Tim  6:  17. 
"    21;.     Self  Denial.     Matt.  16:  24,  25. 


322  HOW   TO   CONDUCT   PRAYER-MEETINGS. 


TOPICS  FOR   1879. 

July     2.     Monthly  Concert.    North  American  Indians. 
"      9.     Declaration  of   Dependence.     Josh,   24:   21-27. 
"     16.     The   Great    Harvest.     Malt.  13:    39;    John   4: 

35'  3<5- 
"     23.     Be   Faithful.     Luke   16:  10-12  ;  Rev.  2  :  10. 
"     30.     Rest  after  work.     Mark  6:  31  ;  Ps.  127  :  2. 
Aug.    6.     Monthly  Concert.     South  America. 

"     13.     Christ  with  the  Twos  and  Threes.     Matt.  18:   20. 
"     20.     The  Rock  Shadow.     Isa.     32  :  2. 
"     27.     Watchfulness.     Matt.  24 :  42.     26  :  40. 
Sep.     3.     Monthly  Concert.  Japan. 

"     10.     The  Faithful  Christian.     John  15 :  8. 

"     17.     What   brought    me    to    Christ?     John  i  :  42.      6: 

44.     I.  Cor.  12:6. 
"     24.     Am   I  Growing  in  Grace  ?     II.  Peter  3  :  iS. 
Oct.      I.     Monthly  Concert.    Persia. 

"      8.     Nothing  can  Save  but  Christ.     John  14  :  6;  Acts 

4:12. 
"     15.     He  Saves  all  who  Come  unto  Him.     John  6 :  37  ; 

Rev.  22  :  17. 
"     22.     All   such   Become  Like  Him.     Rom.  8,  9  ;   Matt. 

10  :  38;  I.  John  3  :  3. 
"     29.     The  Christian  Citizen.     Acts  22,  27,   28 ;  I.  Cor. 

10:  31. 
Nov.    5.     Monthly  Concert.     Papal  Europe. 

"     12.     The  Sure  Choice.     Josh  24:  15  ;  II.  Peter  i  :  10. 
"     19.     Speaking  for  Christ.     Mai.  3  :   16;    Heb.  10:25. 
"     26.     All  things  ours.     I.  Cor.  3  :  21,  22. 
Dec.     3.     Monthly  Concert.    Syria. 

"     10.     Piety  in  Home  Life.     I.  Tim. 5  :  1-4  ;  Eph.  6  ;  1-6. 
"     17.     Opportunities  Neglected.     Acts  24;  24-27;  26: 

28. 
"     24.     The   .•\dvent.     Isa.  9:6;  Luke  2 :  7-14. 
"     31.     The  End.     I.  Peter  4  :  7  ;  II.  Tim.  4  :  6,  7  ;  I.  Cor. 
15:  24. 


DIFFERENT    FORMS  OF   PRINTED    LISTS.  323 

PRACTICAL  SUGGESTIONS. 

Consider  Wednesday  evening  engaged  to  attend  the  meet- 
ing, and  plan  accordingly.  Suffer  nothing  to  keep  you 
away  that  would  not  be  sufficient  to  keep  you  from  a  busi- 
ness engagement,  or  a  social  party.  Persuade  others  to 
attend.  If  you  have  company,  invite  them  to  come  with 
you.  Bring  the  children.  Come  from  your  closet,  if  you 
nave  but  a  few  minutes  to  spend  there.  Sit  as  far  in 
front  as  possible.  Give  attention  during  the  week  to  the 
topic.  Look  out  corresponding  passages  of  Scripture  and 
study  them.  Try  to  be  prepared  to  say  something  to  the 
point,  even  if  it  be  no  more  than  to  repeat  an  appropriate 
text.  Be  short  whether  you  speak  or  pray.  Allow  no 
long  pauses,  to  kill  the  life  of  the  meeting.  If  your  mind 
is  strongly  drawn  to  some  other  subject,  yield  to  the  in- 
fluence, and  speak  as  the  Spirit  may  give  utterance. 

Feel  that  you  are  in  your  Father's  house,  with  your 
brothers  and  sisters,  brought  together  by  His  invitation  to 
promote  each  other's  spiritual  welfare  and  enjoyment.  Do  not 
fear  criticism,  or  ever  indulge  in  it.  Remember  that  not 
one  in  a  thousand  finds  it  easy  to  speak  or  to  pray  at 
first,  and  that  in  proportion  to  the  effort  necessary  to  over- 
come embarrassment  has  been  the  success  and  eminence 
obtained  by  many  Christian  workers.  Consent  to  be  hab- 
itually silent  only  after  making  tiie  most  strenuous  and 
repeated  endeavors  to  acquire  self-possession.  You  may 
be  a  very  useful  Christian  and  yet  be  unheard  here,  but  if 
you  can  overcome  your  infirmity,  it  will  greatly  increase 
your  usefulness. 

Do  your  part  to  make  the  meeting  aid  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  a  social,  friendly  spirit.  Address  strangers  in  words 
of  welcome  and  kindness.  Linger  at  the  close  to  take 
each  other  by  the  hand,  and  to  manifest  an  interest  in  the 
personal  welfare  of  your  fellow  worshippers.  This  cannot 
be  done,  to  any  extent,  upon  the  Sabbath,  because  of  the 
immediate  opening  of  the  Sabbath-school  and  for  other 
reasons;  but  this  meeting  affords  an  opportunity  for  so- 
ciability that  should  by  no  means  be  neglected.  But  be 
careful  that  the  sociability  does  not  degenerate  into  mere 
secular  chat.  Let  it  deepen,  not  diminish  or  destroy,  the 
spiritual  feeling  that  has  been  quickened. 

"  Now,  u7ito  Him  tJiat  is  able  to  do  exceediftg  abundantly 
above  all  thai  we  ask  or  think  according  to  the  power  tliat 
worketh  in  us,  unto  Hint  be  glory  in  the  Church  by  Christ 
jfesus  throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end.     Athch." 


324  HOW  TO  CONDUCT    PRAYER-MEETINGS. 


SUBJECTS 


Weekly  Prayer-Meetings. 

OF     THE 

SECOND  PEESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 

PEORIA,  ILLINOIS. 


Held  in  the  Lecture  Room  every  Wednesday  Evening. 
X8  so- 


REV.  LEWIS  O.  THOMPSON,  Pastor. 


ELDERS : 


JOHN  C.  GRIER.  DAVID   McCULLOCH. 

JOHN  A.  McCOY.  ARTHUR  A.  RUGG. 


God  has  said:  "My  house  shall  be  called  an  House  of  Prayer." 
He  has  ■commanded  :  "Forsake  not  the  assembling  of  yourselves  to- 
gether, as  the  manner  of  some  is."  It  is  recorded:  "  They  that 
feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to  another."  It  is  a  matter  of  experi- 
ence: "  While  they  communed  together,  Jesus  himself  drew  near."  In 
view  of  divine  commands,  promises,  and  blessings  such  as  these,  I  herebv 
pledge  myself  to  be  a  regular  attendant  at  our  Vrayer-Meeting,  and  to 
bring  as  many  with  me  as  I  can.     I  am  not  weary  in  well-doing 

(Signed.) 


DIFFERENT    FORMS  OF  PRINTED   LISTS.  325 


mhjtctB  far  tlje  ^mgcr-P^i^rfing* 


JANUARY. 


7 — Good  Paths  for  the  New  Year.  Jer.  vi :  16.     Prov.  3  :  17. 

14 — Foreign    Missions.     General    Review.  Ex    xlvii:4-5. 

21— Absence  from  the  Prayer-Meeting  attended  with  loss.     John  xx : 

24.. 
28 — Preface  to  the  Ten  Commandments.  Ex.  xx :  2. 

FEBRUARY. 

4— Monthly   Concert.     China  and   the  Chinese  in  California. 

Luke  ii :  32. 
II — Beatitude  for  the  poor  in  spirit.  Matt,  v:  3. 

18 — A  first  duty  of  the  converted.  Luke  xxii :  32! 

25— The  First  Commandment,  Ex.  xx  :  3.  Is.  xliii :  10-15. 

MARCH. 

3— Monthly  Concert.     Mexico.  Mai.  i:  11. 

10 — Beatitude  for  those  that  mourn.  Matt,  v:  4. 

17— The   continuance  of  the  Spirit  with  the  Church.  John  xiv  : 

16-17.     II.  Cor.  xiii :  14. 
24 — Promises  fulfilled  in  Christ.  II.   Cor.  i :  20. 

31 — The  Second  Commandment.  Ex.  xx  :    4-6.   Col.  iii :  1-5. 

APRIL. 

7 — Monthly  Concert.     India.  Rom.  vi :  23. 

14 — beatitude  for  the  meek.  Matt,  v:  5. 

21 — The  choice  of  Moses.  Heb.  xi :  24-27 

28 — The  Third  Commandment.  Ex.  xx  :   7.  Matt,  v  :  33-37. 

MAY. 

5 — Monthly  Concert.     Siam  and  Laos.  Is.  ii:8. 

12— Beatitude  for  those  that  hunger  and  thirst.  Matt,  v  :  6. 

ig— A  Promise   Meeting.  II.  Chron.  vii :  14-15 

26 — The  Fourth   Commandment.        Ex.  xx.   8-1 1.    Jer.  xvii :  19-27. 

JUNE. 

2 — Monthly  Concert.     Africa.  Num.  xiv  :   21. 

9 — Special  Providence.  Ps.  xxxvii :  23. 

16— The  Home  Field.  Lukexxiv:47. 

23— Mizpah.  Gen.  xxxi:49. 

30 — The  Fifth  Commandment.  Ex.  xx :  12.  Luke    ii.  51. 


326  HOW  TO  CONDUCT  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 


JULY. 

7 — Monthly  Concert.    North  American  Indians.     Nam.  xiii: 

30.     Deut.  i :  21. 
14 — Beatitude  for  tlie  merciful.  __  Matt,  v  ;  7. 

21 — Consecration   Meeting.  Ex.  xxxii:  29.  Rom.  xii :  1-2. 

Col.  iil :  2. 
a8— The  Sixth  Commandment.  Ex.  xx:  13.     Matt,  v:  21-22. 

AUGUST. 

4 — Monthly  Concert.    South  America.  Is.  Hi ;  lo. 

11 — Beatitude  for  the  pure  in  heart.  Matt,  v:  8. 

18 — The  Christians' life-force.  John  xiv:   19. 

25 — The  Seventh  Commandment.  Ex.  xx  :  14.  Eph.   v  :  3-7. 

SEPTEMBER. 

I— Monthly  Concert.     Japan.  Micah  iv:  2. 

8 — Beautltude  for  peacemakers.  Matr.  v:  9. 

15— Self-denial.     Matt,  xvi :  24.  _               Gal.  y:  24. 

22 — Connection  between  faith  and  the  sanctification  of  the  Spirit. 

II.  Thess.    ii :  13. 

2g— The  Eighth  Commandment.  Ex.  xx:is.     Lev.  xix:    11-13. 

OCTOBER. 

6— Monthly  Concert.     Persia.  Ps.  xxxvi:  g. 

i3-»Beatitude  for  those  that  are  persecuted.  Matt,  v:  10-12. 

20— "Is  life  worth  living?"  Matt,  xvi:  26.    Matt,    xxvi:  24. 

27 — The  Ninth  Command-Tient.  Ex.  xx:  16.     Ps.  xv:  1-4. 

NOVEMBER. 

3 — Monthly  Concert.     Papal  Europe.  Rev.  ii:  4-5. 

10 — Man  as  helper  in  divine  work.  John  xi:  39;  44. 

17 — The  Tenth  Commandment.  Ex.  xx:   17.     Heb.  xiii;  5. 

84 — Thanksgiving  Meeting.  I.  Chron.  xxix:  10-19. 

DECEMBER 

I— Monthly  Concert.    Syria.           _  Acts  xiii:  16-41. 

8 — Exaggeration  and  swearing  forbidden.  _           Matt,  v:  33-37. 

15— A  Promise  Meeting.                          J  er.  xxix:  13.    Matt,  vi:  24. 

22— Comprehensive   summary   of  the    Ten  Commandments.    Matt. 

xxii;  36-40. 

29— "All's  well  that  ends  well."  Job  xiii:  10-17, 


DIFFERENT   FORMS  OF   PRINTED   LISTS.  327 


MADISON  ST.,  COB.  JACKSON. 


Public  Worship,  Sunday  Morning  and  Evening. 

Sabbath  School,  Sunday  Morning,  9  130. 

Meeting  of  Session,  first  Monday  of  each   month. 

"  Light  Bearers,"  Mission  Band  of  Sabbath  School,  meets 
second  Sabbath  of  each  month. 

Prayer-Meeting,   Wednesday  Evening. 

Ladies'  Prayer-Meeting,  Friday  afternoon. 

Ladies'  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  meets  monthly,  on 
Friday. 

Teachers*  Meeting  meets  weekly,  on  Saturday. 

Church  Socials,  monthly  through  the  year. 

Industrial  School  Saturday  Afternoon. 

Choir-Meeting  Saturday  Evening. 

Sunday  Prayer-Meeting  Sunday  Evening  before  service. 

Communion,  second  Sunday  in  January,  April,  June  and 
October.  Preparatory  Service  on  Friday  Evening  pre- 
ceding. 

Children's    Sunday,    Sunday   following   the    Communion. 


SJjisrJDJi^-z-    scJEioox., 


ARTHUR  H.  RUGG,  Supt.  S.  S.  WINN,  Ass't  Supt. 

GEO.  BRYAN,  Sec.  &  Treas.        Col.  J.  D.  McCLURE   Librarian. 


Date 

Due 

fAC 

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